Presidential Task Force on dengue:

First meeting today

Nadira Gunatilleke

The Presidential Task Force to be set up to control dengue in the country will meet for the first time today at the Presidential Secretariat under President Mahinda Rajapaksa's patronage.

A Health Ministry spokesman said this is the first time a Presidential Task Force is being established to control dengue in Sri Lanka.

Inter sectoral coordination will be carried out with the participation of the Health, Defence, Environment, Education, and Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministries. Sri Lanka's dengue control program was earlier limited to a few days or weeks. Under the new initiative, the dengue control program will be carried out countrywide throughout the year paying special attention to the most affected 65 Divisional Secretariat divisions in the 15 districts.

The Health Minister and the Deputy Minister will directly take part in the dengue control campaign in the 65 most affected Divisional Secretariat divisions.

Public, state and private institutions contribution will be obtained by the Task Force to carry out its activities, he said. Five committees ( the National Committee, Provincial Committee, District committee, Divisional Secretariat division level committees and Grama Niladari level committees ) will be set up from National Level to grass roots level to control dengue.

A special program has been launched under the theme `Let us stepping into street to control dengue'. The five committees are to be set up before June 5, the World Environment Day.

The National Committee will meet once in three months while the provincial committee will meet once in two months.

The district committees will meet once a month and the committees to be set up at Divisional Secretariat divisional level will meet once in two weeks. The Grama Niladhari Division level committees will meet once every week to review the situation in connection with dengue control.