Dengue eradication:
Panadol and Rotary Club team up with Kandy Municipality
Panadol, a paracetamol based product, and a brand of leading Consumer
Healthcare Company GlaxoSmithKline in partnership with Rotary District
3220 - Sri Lanka, a nonprofit organization launched an extensive Dengue
eradication drive together with the Kandy Municipal Council in the hill
capital.
The dengue eradication effort by Panadol and the Rotary Club titled "Panadol
Sahana Balakaya" focused on highly populated areas in the Kandy
Municipal Council.
The cleanup drive targeted key schools in Kandy and all premises
within a radius of 200 meters of these schools. Subsequently these areas
will be monitored for a
Participants at the Dengue campaign |
period of eight weeks to ensure they remain as
Dengue free zones.
"Panadol Sahana Balakaya", is a Dengue prevention drive aimed at
finding a solution to eradicate the disease from Sri Lanka with the
support of likeminded partners. It was first launched in Colombo in July
this year, targeting 27 schools and all premises within a 200 metre
radius of these institutions. Each location was monitored for two months
to ensure that the authorities, residents and proprietors of relevant
premises maintained Dengue free zones.
Mayor of Kandy, L.B. Aluvihare, said, "It is impossible for an
authority to arrest this situation in full, we must have the community
support and they should realise that if the Dengue mosquito breeds it is
a danger for all the people in the area.
So we need awareness programs like this by all concerned to keep
their areas clean and prevent the mosquitoes from breeding. It is only
then that we can fight the Dengue Epidemic.
The Kandy Municipal Council is doing their utmost towards this
problem and we appeal to all and sundry to support us by keeping our
City clean".
Managing Director of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Sachi Thomas
said, the Panadol Sahana Balakaya is a collective effort by both the
State and private sector to control the spread of Dengue in Sri Lanka.
A single entity cannot achieve this ambitious goal. We are proud to
partner with the Kandy Municipality and Rotary District 3220 - Sri
Lanka, to educate communities, to clean our environment and importantly
and eventually create Dengue free zones through a behavioral change."
Rotarian Project Co-chairperson, Rotary Club of Colombo Dr. Yusry
Mohideen Mid Town, said "We have selected Kandy for the second phase of
this Dengue eradication program because of the number of dengue cases
present here."
He acknowledged the cooperation and arrangements of the Kandy
Municipal Council and Rotary Club of Kandy to wards a successful
campaign. He said "We aim to make a significant reduction in the spread
of dengue in Kandy by creating and monitoring Dengue free zones in 25
schools. The overall impact of our efforts in Kandy, Colombo and other
areas of the country is to significantly reduce the number of Dengue
cases in Sri Lanka." |