Government Designs an Immediate Plan of Action to Combat Dengue

Government Designs an Immediate Plan of Action to Combat Dengue 
Dominican Republic, 08/01/2010

The campaign ¨No Breeding Ground, No Mosquitoes, No Mosquitoes, No Dengue,¨ involving 27 government institutions coordinated by the Cabinet for Social Policy, are joining together to support the Ministry of Public Health in its all-out effort to diminish the effects of dengue on the country’s inhabitants.

The central modus operandi of the campaign is based on providing and disseminating information, education and communication about dengue which, for the most part, is affecting Santo Domingo and Santiago.

Town halls in the National District, Santiago, Santo Domingo West and Santo Domingo East will actively participate in the effort. They will work through neighborhood organizations in an effort to raise consciousness among the population about what to do to eradicate dengue in the most vulnerable areas, according to the President’s Office of Information, Press and Publicity.

The central modus operandi of the campaign is based on providing and disseminating information, education and communication about dengue which, for the most part, is affecting Santo Domingo and Santiago.

Rafael Núñez, Director of the President’s Office of Information, Press and Publicity, said the government has developed an information, communication and dissemination strategy that will be undertaken by organizations and institutions with the help of the town halls. He said that the campaign seeks to diminish the impact of the illness as it provides people with the information they need to understand the origin of dengue and the link between it and leptospirosis (a bacterial disease associated with wild and domestic animals).

Mr. Núñez said the anti-dengue campaign went into effect last Thursday when participating government institutions began to disseminate the simple message “No Breeding Ground, No Mosquitoes, No Mosquitoes, No Dengue.”

The institutions participating in the dengue eradication actions include the town halls of the National District, Santiago de los Caballeros, San Cristobal, Santo Domingo East and Santo Domingo West.

Other organizations involved include the Office of Labor Risks, the Office of Government Social Subsidies, the Institute of Aid and Housing (INAVI in Spanish), the Public Canteens, the Executive Commission for Health Reform, the Decent Living Community, the National Council for the Handicapped, the National Council for the Elderly, the National Social Security Council and the National Council for Children and Adolescents.

To that list is added the Office of the First Lady, DIDA, the General Office for Boarder Development, the Dominican Institute of Social Security, the Ministry of Youth, the Women’s Ministry, the Ministry of Public Health, the Presidential Social Assistance Plan, PROCOMUNIDAD, the Solidarity Program, PROMESE-CAL, the National Health Insurance, the Superintendant of Health and Labor Risks, the Treasury of the Social Security office, the Vice President’s Office and the President’s Office of Information, Press and Publicity.

Mr. Núñez indicated that the campaign seeks to reach the sectors that are most vulnerable to these diseases and to maintain, through communication organizations, an ongoing application of a strategy to keep the public informed and oriented about the risks and prevention of dengue.

A meeting held in the Green Hall of the National Palace and coordinated by the Government’s Cabinet for Social Policy, was attended by Dr. Bautista Rojas Gómez, the Minister of Public Health and Social Assistance; Roberto Salcedo, Syndicate Town Hall Leader of the National District; José Montás, Syndicate Leader of San Cristobal and Maritza López, of INAVI.

Núñez, of Information, Press and Publicity, said various sectors of society are getting involved in the task of identification and eradication of the dengue breeding grounds through activities that involve raising awareness and coordinating governmental and community actions as well as youth and neighborhood organizations.