CEA enters anti-dengue drive

Ridma Dissanayake

The Central Environment Authority (CEA) will conduct a special "Shramadhana" campaign and a series of awareness programmes parallel to the National Dengue Prevention and Control Programme which is already being implemented by the Health Ministry, Mass Media and Information Ministry Secretary and CEA chairman Dr. Charitha Herath said.

"We hope to conduct these programmes with the assistance of government institutions and several other organisations and committees. All these programmes are to be implemented continuously in a very successful manner", he said. The people should be mobilized to prevent the spread of the deadly disease. Because of that the CEA has taken measures to conduct its awareness programmes at provincial, district, divisional, institutional as well as domestic level.

All these programmes will be conducted under the guidance of Presidential Task Force on Dengue Prevention and Control, he added. The CEA has commenced its dengue eradication activities at the beginning of this month while covering the whole country. This programme has been implemented at district level and extended to the Northern and Eastern Provinces in collaboration with the provincial and district offices under the purview of the CEA. The first part of this programme was implemented in selected areas in all districts and the CEA has taken measures to launch this programme throughout the districts. The assistance provided by the Divisional Health Medical Officers, Local Governmental Institutions, Public Health Inspectors (PHIs), religious leaders, environmental societies of schools, government servants and voluntary organizations have to be highly appreciated, the chairman said.