DHAKA, Aug 28 (NNN-BSS) – With more than 21,000 cases of dengue reported among children under the age of 15 in Bangladesh, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), yesterday said, it is intensifying its support for the Bangladeshi government to contain the dengue outbreak.
UNICEF said, it is delivering 2.25 million U.S. dollars’ worth of urgently needed testing kits, training of professionals, along with other critical supplies and services, in the health and water, sanitation, and hygiene sectors, to protect children and respond to public health emergency.
The dengue outbreak has now spread to 64 districts, it said.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Bangladesh, more than 112,000 cases of dengue have been reported, of which 20 percent are children below the age of 15. Over 500 dengue-related deaths have been reported.
In a year when the world has seen a rising number of climate-driven disasters, climate change is also exacerbating the spread of vector-borne diseases like dengue, directly impacting the lives of children, as well as adults, UNICEF said in a statement.
“Once again, children in Bangladesh are at the frontlines of climate change, as the dengue crisis here escalates,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF representative to Bangladesh.
“The government of Bangladesh is undertaking a timely and effective response to the ongoing dengue situation in the country. The need of the hour is for the communities to ensure that mosquitoes do not breed in their houses, and take all precautionary measures to ward away mosquitoes,” said Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, director general of Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Health Services.
Among other measures, UNICEF said, it is supporting the government in engaging communities and raising awareness about dengue prevention, and taking necessary preventive measures.
UNICEF further said, it has mobilised religious and community leaders to influence people with actionable information, to reduce the spread of dengue. Through disseminating information at mass gatherings and social media, it has assisted the government in reaching over 50 million people with messages about protection from dengue in the last month.
UNICEF said, it is also working together with partners to support the government with critical medical supplies, including kits with 13,400 tests, building capacities of staff, providing technical advice, and implementing actions such as campaigns to clean up breeding sites in select areas.– NNN-BSS
