Hanover dengue clean-up declared a success
WESTERN BUREAU: STAKEHOLDERS IN Hanover say last week’s three-day dengue clean-up project in the western parish was a major success, as tons of garbage were removed from drains as well as debushing in the Sandy Bay community, which was the main project.
On Friday, January 24, the first day of the clean-up, the staff of the Hanover Health Department spearheaded visits to schools and business places to identify and destroy breeding sites of the Aedes Aygepti mosquito, the transmitter of the dreaded dengue virus. The schools visited included Rusea’s High, Esher Primary, Hopewell High, Knockalva Polythecnic College, Green Island Primary and Green Island High.
“As a parish, we decided to focus on the Hanover Infirmary because of the high-risk population that resides there, along with other health facilities,” Edward Cunningham, vector control specialist in Hanover, and coordinator of the activities, told The Gleaner.
“We have received some really positive feedback so far. We went into the crevices and corners within the parish, with a continuation of our educational programme in helping people to identify and destroy mosquito breeding sites, and we got some positive responses from some of the schools. They say that the initiative was greatly appreciated, while the matron at the infirmary said that at the end of the day, she can really see the whole impact of the vector control programme.”
Cunningham outlined the scope of work that the Ministry of Health and Wellness, through the Hanover Health Department team along with assistance from the National Works Agency, the National Solid Waste Management Authority, the Hanover Municipal Corporation and other volunteering organisations and groups, were task to complete over the three days.
MORE TO DO
“We attempted to do sensitisation throughout the entire parish, we have accomplished that; we wanted to do drain cleaning, bulk waste removal, de-bushing, and we have accomplished all of that; but there is still more to do,” said Cunningham.
“What I see this effort as, and all my colleagues agree, is forming more of the catalyst for this to be the beginning of the mobilisation efforts to encourage individuals, as well as the community at large, to recognise that they need to take personal responsibility and our role from the various ministries is to support them in this effort, so that we can all fight the scourge of dengue fever that we are all dealing with.”