With reduction in recurrence of waterborne diseases following growing public consciousness, the overall health indexes improved largely in rural areas of the district in last ten years.
“Rural people attained laudable success in health, hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, safe drinking water and nutrition following huge awareness building activities conducted toward the direction,” said Civil Surgeon Dr Abu Md Zakirul Islam.
Health officials and workers, union health sub-centres and community clinics are playing vital roles along with other departments and organisations concerned with assistance of the government of Bangladesh, WHO and UNICEF to achieve the success.
Director of Rangpur Medical College Hospital Dr Ajay Kumar Roy told BSS that recurrence of diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, hookworm and ringworm reduced to the minimum in last ten years in the area.
“As a result of huge consciousness created among rural people through conducting awareness building programmes, the rate of waterborne disease-related mortality has reduced to almost zero level,’ he added.
Deputy Divisional Director (Health) Dr Shahin Ara Haque said recurrence of waterborne diseases reduced to the minimum improving all public health indexes during the past ten years in the district.
“The rural health and hygiene situations have marked impressive improvement following re-launching and revitalising of community clinics and health sub-centres by the present government to reach health services to rural people,” she said. Head of the Department of Community Medicine at Prime Medical College and Hospital in Rangpur Dr Fazlul Haque said heath indexes of rural people improved in last ten years with almost no report of waterborne disease-related death in the district.
Talking to BSS, Chairman of Haridebpur union parisahd in Sadar upazila Iqbal Hossain said rural people are much conscious about health, hygiene, sanitation, personal hygiene and safe drinking water and they do not use open places as toilets as in the pasts.
“There was not a single incident of waterborne disease-related death in my union parisahd area during the past ten years though the number was high even a decade ago,” Iqbal added.
Sadar upazila Chairman Nasima Zaman Boby appreciated the steps taken by the present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to attain the exceptional success in reducing waterborne related diseases here as elsewhere in the country in last ten years.
“The community clinics, local community leaders and public representatives played vital role in motivating inhabitants of every house to use sanitary latrine and safe drinking water in rural areas improving health indexes in the district,” she added.
Chairman of Rangpur-based research organisation ‘Northbengal Institute of Development Studies’ Dr Syed Samsuzzaman said union digital centres and media publicity educated rural people to attain better health, hygiene and sanitation faculties.
