As another year rolls around, the two city corporations have begun preparation for their battle against dengue. This is good, and being pro-active about this is our best chance of containing it. Dengue has always been a crisis for Dhaka dwellers, and with the onset of monsoon, a dozen areas around the capital have been identified as hotspots for Aedes mosquitoes.
To reiterate, dengue is now an annual issue facing this country. In the last season, there were around 28,000 people who had been hospitalized, with over 100 people dying. These are deaths that could have been prevented if the authorities had taken just a little more care when it came to the prevention of this heinous disease.
Every year, we hear about several drives being carried out by the different city corporations, but we continue to see lives being lost. This begs the question: What are we doing wrong? Earlier reports by experts have suggested that we lack the health care infrastructure to fight this disease, from both doctors to research workers. This year, the authorities would do well to review their existing practices.
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The authorities would also do well to allocate a significant portion of the budget towards the health care sector, as both dengue and other diseases can be successfully repealed only when we have a robust health care apparatus,which in addition to curing those affected, helps with preparation and research to find better ways to deal with future outbreaks.
Both prevention and long-term measures are the key. We need to both target and eliminate the environmental hazards that contribute to this disease and bolster our health care system for better protection.