Staff Reporter :
Speakers at a discussion in the capital on Saturday urged the government to take preventive measures for combating chikunguniya in cities rather than curing the viral disease of the affected dwellers.
They suggested formation of a powerful investigative committee who will identify the players responsible for the spread and take legal actions against the authorities who had averted such public health threat irresponsibly.
A demand was also raised that the government create a public health department to formulate laws on public health and look after the public health issues in the country.
The discussion was organised by the Poribesh Bachao Andolan (POBA) at its city office.
Chaired by Chairman of POBA Abu Naser Khan, it was addressed, among others, by General Secretary Engineer Abdus Sobhan, Member of POBA Rajia Samad, Shamsul Islam Chowdhury, Kaiser Ahmed, Secretary Ferdous Ahmed Ujjal, Co-secretary MA Wahed and Nishat Mahmud. Dr Lelin Chowdhury presented the key-note paper at the programme.
Abu Naser Khan underscored the need for taking coordinated actions among authorities for preventing spread of chikungunia in the cities and alarmed that other viral diseases like dengue, bird’s flu, nippah fever are also spreading. “Immediate attention, preventive measures and awareness generation among citizens by the authorities like the Department of Health and City Corporations can combat such public health threats,” he said.
“A silent genocide is going on in the country, We have to collectively take actions to combat such disaster. It is an emergency state of public health threat,” Khan mentioned.
“The government should take the issue more seriously and concentrate more on preventive measures rather than curing such public health threats before it takes valuable lives of the citizens,” suggested Dr Lelin Chowdhury.
Engineer Abdus Sobhan said separate, independent public health department formulation is a demand of the time, who will coordinate among authorities among government and private organizations to combat such public health threats.
