Reiterating that mosquito control can improve dengue prevalence, Health Minister Zahid Maleque shouldered the responsibility of mosquito control on the local governments and the city corporations.
Emphasising effective mosquito control measures to fight the dengue outbreak, he claimed that his ministry is all equipped, and hospitals are ready with sufficient number of beds for dengue patients.
He made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest of the National Conference on Maternal and Adolescent Nutrition at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel in the capital. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with support from UNICEF, organised the event - to identify an action plan to accelerate nutritional care for the adolescents and women in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Tuesday registered 11 more deaths due to the mosquito-borne dengue fever, including three from Dhaka.
With the new deaths, the total number of casualties reached 752, including 531 from Dhaka. As many as 2,956 new cases of hospitalisation were also reported in the same period, including 911 from Dhaka.
"We are doing everything within our capacity. Now they (who are responsible for mosquito control) will need to do their job properly (to control dengue mosquito)," Mr Zahid Maleque said.
"If we cannot control mosquito population, we cannot reduce the number of dengue patients."
He noted that dengue has already spread across the country, and about 3,000 new patients are being hospitalised every day.
The health minister also said there is no shortage of saline in the government hospitals, while an approval has been given to bring 700,000 saline bags from India.
The government is committed to invest additional resources to ensure equitable access to nutrition services for all mothers and adolescent girls across Bangladesh, he added.
"Fed to Fail", UNICEF's Global Child Nutrition Report 2021, shows that Bangladesh is on track to meet the 2025 World Health Assembly target of achieving 40 per cent decrease in the proportion of stunted children under the age of five.
"The economic benefits of investing in better nutrition for mothers and young girls have been extensively documented. Making core investments today will add to the productivity and wellbeing of future generations for decades to come," said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh.
"Bangladesh has made remarkable progress towards achieving the global health and nutrition goals. To sustain this progress, it is crucial to address the shortfalls in maternal and adolescent nutrition services for those most in need," he added.
Approximately 604,000 children with low birth weight are annually born in Bangladesh. Nearly 28 per cent of these children fall into an intergenerational cycle of malnutrition and poverty.
Officials of the Ministry of Health and the DGHS also spoke at the event.
nsrafsanju@gmail.com
