Govt. groping in the dark on dengue issue, claims GMOA

By Himal Kotelawala

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) yesterday accused the authorities of groping in the dark, offering band-aid solutions to the ongoing dengue epidemic instead of approaching it scientifically.

Quoting the Department of Parasitology, the GMOA said in a media release that mosquito density is increasing every day, adding that the science predicts that the status quo will continue over the next two months or longer.

The GMOA was highly critical of the authorities’ inaction, pointing to a letter addressed by them to President Maithripala Sirisena dated 5 July, where the association highlighted four reasons for the unusual severity of the outbreak. 

In their letter, the GMOA has noted that biological changes undergone by the dengue virus, the country’s failure at solid waste management, a lack of coordination at the grassroots level and inefficiency of initiatives to educate the public and change attitudes have contributed to the status quo.

The GMOA had proposed to the President the following measures to curb the spread of the disease:

1. Analyse the situation at a district and divisional level

2. A stronger public awareness campaign

3. Clean-up program aimed at reducing mosquito density

4. Village level committees mandated to eradicated dengue

5. Strengthen the existing healthcare system

6. Better coordination and regulation of private sector participation

7. A national policy on solid waste management

8. Implement existing laws

The GMOA complained that what is happening now is contrary to their recommendations. The mechanism that was in place to inform a patient’s relevant Medical Officer of Health (MOH) at the village level by the hospital he or she is admitted to has come to a standstill, the association said, emphasising the importance of hospitals immediately reporting on their patients to their respective MOH. Only then, said the GMOA, can preventative measures take place on a grassroots level in a timely manner.  Due to this lack of information flow, real statistics may be difficult to obtain, warned the GMOA, challenging the Government to guarantee the actual number of infections has not risen to 100,000.

The GMOA also charged that the recent regulation issued to private hospitals to drop prices for blood tests have also turned out to be a farce and demanded a mechanism to implement it. 

Cabinet to tackle dengue 

• Weeklong anti-dengue campaign to be launched with political patronage to support health workers

The Cabinet of Ministers were yesterday instructed by President Maithripala Sirisena to focus their full attention on tackling the dengue epidemic following a briefing on the situation in the country by an expert from the World Health Organization. 

“There was a full briefing followed by representatives of the WHO and the Director General of Health Services. The DG Health Services highlighted the issues faced in the field while dealing with the public. Following the revelations by the DG, the President advised that the anti-dengue campaign should be given political leadership to gain public support,” Cabinet Spokesperson Dayasiri Jayasekara told Daily FT. 

“Although dengue is not a political matter, the President said that different forces are taking advantage of the situation without uniting to tackle the menace. We were all advised to work with anti-dengue teams in our local areas to go to the field and provide the leadership needed.” 

Following discussions, the Government has decided to launch an anti-dengue week next week, when all national and local level politicians will engage in door-to-door inspection and cleaning campaigns to support health officials who are carrying out these tasks at present. (CD)

WHO submits report to control dengue in Sri Lanka

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has submitted a report to the Health Ministry on measures which need to be taken to control the spread of dengue in Sri Lanka.

A delegation from the WHO currently in Sri Lanka inspected some of the areas affected by the spread of dengue. The WHO delegation included members from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The Health Ministry said that Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne is to brief Cabinet on the findings and recommendations of the WHO team. (Colombo Gazette)