Building a Better Jamaica

Published: Thursday | August 5, 2010
Jamaica Gleaner

The Ministry of Health has proposed to train 1,200 young persons to carry out educational talks in high-risk communities under its recently developed community dengue-prevention intervention programme.

The thrust comes in the wake of a dengue outbreak in the Caribbean.

At a press conference at Jamaica House on Tuesday, Health Minister Rudyard Spencer disclosed that the youths will be sharing house-to-house dengue-prevention messages, as well as identifying and destroying mosquito-breeding sites in approximately 150 communities.

The minister said the youth programme is part of a public-education push in an effort to lessen the risk of an increase in the population of Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads the disease.

Other strategies that will be carried out include reprinting and distributing education material across the health regions, in communities, schools, businesses, health facilities and other areas.

In addition, commercials will run in the electronic media.

Mp participation

"I am appealing to all members of parliament to contribute some of their local resources to assist with community activities and participation of these young persons," Spencer said.

"We believe this approach is more sustainable, as we are not just equipping the next generation with this important information and practice, we are also tackling the problem at the source."

Spencer said the ministry's effort would only be successful if the public plays a role.

"The public is being asked to ensure that they open doors and windows when fogging is taking place so that mosquitoes in the homes can also be eliminated," he said.

"The Ministry of Health is constantly giving reminders, but these are worth repeating and should be the kind of activities that we do all year round."

Persons should take the following precautions:

Get rid of mosquito-breeding sites by looking for anything in which water can settle and either cover it, keep the area dry, clean it regularly, fill it with soil or sand, punch holes into it, recycle or properly dispose of it.

Persons should avoid being bitten by mosquitoes by using insect repellent, mosquito nets, mosquito destroyers or putting screens on windows and doors.

Make sure that children wear protective clothing such as socks, long-sleeve shirts, or blouses and long pants, particularly at night.

Do not dump garbage in drains and gullies.