Govt allocates Rs 500m for dengue fight

The Government has allocated Rs 500 million this year to control dengue. This amount was Rs 50 million last year. A task force will also be appointed to 65 MOH divisions identified as high risk areas, Health Services (Public Health), Deputy Director General, Dr Palitha Maheepala said.

According to Dr Maheepala, the ministry appointed 40 assistant entomologists to assist the dengue control program and a special inter sectoral coordinating committee has been appointed under the chairmanship of the Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga. The number of dengue cases reported this year is over 2,500 while the number of deaths so far is 20.

The ministry has taken several steps to control the dengue epidemic and the disease is not an epidemic in Sri Lanka. But the risk of developing the disease to an epidemic level is always there, he said.

The ministry distributed around 100 fogging machines all over the country and 300 more fogging machines will be distributed countrywide shortly. Chemicals and medical equipment to diagnose the disease has also been provided to hospitals, Dr Maheepala said.

The task force will include members of Civil Defence Committees, Police, MOH, PHI, microbiologists attached to Provincial Health Institutions and volunteers.

They will be coordinated by the special officers to be appointed by the ministry shortly.

The ministry will provide infrastructure facilities for all dengue control activities, he added.

The ministry will also appoint special officers to handle issuing of notices to persons who keep dengue breeding sites within their properties, monitoring the cleaning processes and filing cases against them when required. They will be recruited specially for dengue control and will be paid a salary.

They will be engaged in dengue control activities during their entire duty hours. The ministry decided to appoint them to continue the dengue control activities throughout the year.