Secretary to the President holds meeting on dengue prevention

Secretary to the President, Austin Fernando, held a special meeting with the Operations Committee on Dengue Prevention yesterday at the Presidential Secretariat.

Heads of the institutions of the health sector joined this meeting.

As 30% of dengue patients are schoolchildren, the committee suggested handing over the responsibility of making school premises free from dengue mosquitoes to the principals of schools. Accordingly, all principals of the island will be educated in this regard through the Secretary to the Education Ministry.

The meeting discussed the importance of giving priority to the districts, recognised as the critical areas of dengue. It was emphasised that there will be an issue in controlling the spread of dengue due to current weather conditions and also the possibility of rain within the next few months. Accordingly, it was decided to take quick action to solve this problem.

Attention was also paid to getting the active contribution of government officers and the people for dengue prevention projects carried out by the security forces. They also discussed ways to strengthen current dengue control projects.

During the discussions, officials paid attention to getting assistance through mobile phone networks and information communication institutes to convey information about the critical areas of dengue and to educate the public on the control of dengue. Minister Faiszer Musthapha, Deputy Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Chathurika Sirisena, Secretary to the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils Kamal Padmasiri, Director General of Health Services Dr. Jayasundara Bandara, district secretaries and commanders of the security forces also joined this discussion.