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Fighting dengue

A picture we published yesterday of uncleared garbage and overflowing drains in the Panadura area spoke more eloquently than words on the nature of the fast-spreading dengue menace.

The news is that dengue is on the march and is no longer confined to Colombo city. Many provincial towns are now suffering under the pervasive and insidious impact of the deadly disease.

No less a person than Science and Technology Minister, Professor Tissa Vitarana, recently pointed to the wastefulness and uselessness of the seemingly quick-fix method of eliminating dengue through fumigation.

While politicians stood to gain by the visible and widespread adoption of fumigation by local government bodies, it is open to question whether the method proves effective in the elimination of the dengue mosquito.

This is mainly because the mosquito larva is left unaffected by fumigation. If the mosquito is to be eliminated the larvae need to be wiped out first and this wouldn't be possible until the mosquito breeding places are located and destroyed.

Therefore, there are no quick-fixes in these anti-dengue campaigns. We need to keep our environs clean and free of mosquito breeding sites, if any headway is to be made in our efforts to curb the resurgent killer disease.

It must be said rightaway that what is needed in these circumstances by way of remedial measures, is a vast, nation-wide collective effort, involving government at all levels as well as all sections of the public.

While the central, provincial and local government institutions need to take the lead in efforts to fight and eliminate dengue, it goes without saying that they need the unstinted cooperation of the citizenry in these fight back efforts.

Despite scores of lives being claimed by dengue, it is possible to detect a high degree of complacency and indifference to the prevailing dangers among sections of the public as well as among those who are charged with initiating anti-dengue measures. To begin, with, public awareness on the causes of the disease has to be raised on a continuous basis.

The pubic needs to be conscientized into taking these remedial measures as a matter of duty. In other words, a strong civic consciousness needs to be fostered among the people on questions arising from the dengue crisis.

This civic-consciousness needs to be raised to such heights that each household and neighbourhood would, with the active support, guidance and cooperation of the authorities, ensure that their environs are free of dengue mosquito breeding sites. Among the latter are shallow, stagnant pools of water and unkempt drains, besides uncleared garbage.

The dysfunctional nature of some of our local government institutions is also seen in the current dengue crisis. It is the experience of sections of the public that some of those charged with eliminating mosquito-breeding places have to be bribed to carry out their duties. These evils must end, if the fight against dengue is to be won.

New beginning for Philippines

Gloria Arroyo, who won the Presidential Election in the Philippines after a hard-fought election campaign, is due to take oaths next week. Opponents alleged that the May 10 election was tainted by cheating and with 150 election-related deaths, it was the most violent poll in a couple of decades.

Arroyo (57), the daughter of former President Diosdado Macapagal (1961-1965), is an economist with sharp political and diplomatic skills. She will need all these skills and more to pull the Philippines out of the morass it is in at the moment.

The Presidency is not new to Arroyo - she inherited it and a tattered economy from movie-star president Joseph Estrada, who was deposed in 2001 after a military-backed popular uprising. After taking over from Estrada, she moved to stabilise the economy and her re-election campaign also focused on presenting herself as the only candidate with the experience to manage the economy responsibly.

"To my detractors, I appeal for unity. To my supporters, I appeal for an open mind. This is a time for forgiveness and letting go of the past," Arroyo has told her nation of 84 million people.

She has a host of challenges to face and many promises to deliver. She campaigned on a promise to create a million jobs every year, pull down electricity rates, reduce medicine costs and increase funding for small businesses.

Emancipating the impoverished masses from the shackles of poverty will be another major task. She must also take concrete steps to improve the economic outlook - the Philippines posted a budget deficit of 77.4 billion pesos (1.37 billion dollars) in the first five months of 2004. There are calls to spend more on vital infrastructure and services needed to sustain economic growth.

The economy will receive a huge boost if the Philippines can resolve the armed conflict waged by Communist rebels. Philippine government officials and the militants from the New People's Army (NPA) have resumed Norwegian-brokered peace talks in Oslo, aimed at ending the 35-year conflict. The prospect of a ceasefire seems remote at the moment, but it may not be an impossible target.

Manila also has to grapple with the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group which has kidnapped several Filipinos and foreigners in the southern part of the country, decapitating some of the hostages.

With the elections over and the President-elect taking the helm in just one week, Filipinos must shed their differences and work together to achieve peace and prosperity.

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