Islamabad - Federal Health Minister Saira Afzal Tarar on Wednesday called the city administration and Capital Development Administration (CDA) for urgent steps to ensure safe management of solid waste and cleanliness in the city to control the dengue spread. The minister headed a meeting held here to discuss the reported dengue cases and measures being taken for prevention and control of virus in the city.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of State for Capital Administration & Development Division (CADD) Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Minister for Specialized Medical Care Punjab Khawaja Salman Rafiq, Minister for Primary and Secondary Health Punjab Khawaja Imran Nazir, Secretary CADD, Executive Director (ED) NIH, Chief Commissioner Islamabad, heads of tertiary care hospitals in Islamabad besides other senior health officials.
The minister asked ICT administration to prepare a list of high-risk zones in the city regarding the spread of dengue virus.
The minister also constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Executive Director NIH Brig Aamir Ikram to coordinate with all stakeholders and ensure all measures for dengue prevention and control.
The minister said that five member team for each union council in Islamabad should be constituted for surveillance.
The minister added that any human resource related issue in CDA and ICT must be resolved expeditiously to ensure effective response to challenges like dengue.
Addressing the meeting, the minister said, “We need to maintain a high level of vigilance to avoid any outbreak situation in the federal capital.
She directed that case response should be essentially undertaken to ensure that there is proper surveillance especially in the areas from where dengue cases are being reported. She urged the senior officials from Islamabad to work in close coordination for the common cause of preventing the residents of the city from dengue virus.
The Minister of State for CADD said that his ministry was vigilant and all hospitals in the federal capital under his ministry were fully prepared to manage and treat the dengue patients.
On this occasion, Khawaja Salman Rafiq and Khawaja Imran Nazir briefed the minister and shared experience of Punjab government in controlling the dengue virus. Punjab offered capacity-building to Islamabad health personnel and access to dengue dashboard.
Secretary CADD informed the meeting that a coordination cell was established in his the ministry on dengue prevention.
