3-month special anti-dengue campaign to begin Saturday

A three-month special cleanliness and public awareness campaign to prevent dengue will begin on September 12. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate the programme, which aims to tackle the dengue outbreak by involving both government initiatives and active public participation during the high-risk period.

The Prime Minister gave the directives at a meeting on dengue prevention at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday afternoon, confirmed Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Shiplu.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister stressed that relying solely on mosquito control activities would not be enough. Alongside destroying mosquito breeding grounds, cleanliness and public awareness must be increased. He emphasised coordinated field-level activities involving local administration, volunteer organisations and students.

The Prime Minister said the next three months are crucial for the dengue situation. Active public participation must be ensured alongside government initiatives. People must be motivated to keep their homes, educational institutions, government and private establishments and surrounding areas clean regularly.

Under the new programme, city corporations will coordinate in metropolitan areas, while deputy commissioners will do so at the district level. Upazila executive officers (UNOs) will be responsible for coordinating local-level activities at the upazila level.

The cleanliness and awareness campaign will involve volunteers from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, as well as Scouts, Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC), Girl Guides, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society volunteers and school and college students.

As part of the programme, volunteers and students will visit various houses and establishments every Saturday to take part in cleanliness drives. Potential breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes will be identified, and residents will be made aware of the importance of keeping their homes and surroundings clean.

The Prime Minister also directed extensive publicity through mass media and social media alongside field-level activities. He emphasised regular public awareness messages on television and highlighting dengue prevention messages on social media.

The meeting was attended by Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu, Information and Broadcasting Minister Barrister Andaleeve Rahman Partho, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives State Minister Mir Shahe Alam, Health and Family Welfare State Minister Dr M A Muhit, Information State Minister Yasher Khan Chowdhury, Prime Minister's Special Assistant for Health Dr S M Ziauddin Haider, Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani, Prime Minister's Principal Secretary ABM Abdus Sattar, Prime Minister's Special Assistant Dr Shakirul Islam Khan, Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Abdus Salam, Information Secretary Mahbuba Farzana, and senior officials from concerned ministries and departments.