Chandigarh: Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh on Saturday unveiled a multi-pronged strategy combining public awareness, stricter enforcement and enhanced healthcare readiness to bring down the number of dengue cases in the state. “This year, our aim is to reduce dengue cases by 80 per cent,” the minister said while presiding over a State Task Force meeting on vector-borne diseases here.
The meeting was attended by senior officials, including Principal Secretary, Health, Kumar Rahul.
“Dedicated dengue beds with mosquito nets have been allocated in district hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals, community health centres, ESI hospitals and medical colleges while the testing and treatment for dengue and malaria will remain free of cost at all government health facilities, including 881 Aam Aadmi Clinics,” Singh said.
He announced that the ‘Har Shukravar Dengue Te Var’ campaign, initiated by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, will commence from May 1.
He also stressed the importance of robust strategies to control dengue, malaria, and chikungunya while directing all stakeholder departments to amplify their efforts and launch a mass awareness drive to prevent these vector-borne diseases.
The minister announced that dengue is a notifiable disease in Punjab and the price for its testing in private hospitals and laboratories has been capped at Rs 600 statewide, ensuring affordable access to this vital service.
While outlining the health department’s preparedness, Singh said 50,000 nursing staff and 50,000 paramedical staff have been trained as mosquito larvae breeder checkers and they will further train officials of the aligned departments to identify larvae and breeding spots, according to an official statement.
During the meeting, the minister also reviewed the ongoing activities of various departments aimed at tackling dengue.
He instructed officials to make concerted efforts to control both dengue and malaria to safeguard public health.
Lauding the effectiveness of the ‘Har Shukarvar Dengue Te Var’ campaign, Singh said this awareness campaign yielded remarkable results last year with a 50 per cent reduction in dengue cases and a 66 per cent reduction in dengue-related deaths.
He said special awareness camps will be organised in schools and students and teachers will be actively involved in the campaign.
The minister also directed the Department of School Education to eliminate stagnant water in school premises, particularly around toilets, mid-day meal kitchens and overhead water tanks.
Singh appealed to the public to actively prevent mosquito breeding by not letting water stagnate in and around their homes.
He urged people to immediately visit government hospitals if they experience any symptoms of dengue and malaria to get tested.>
