Shahbaz gives blank cheque to help control dengue in KP

LAHORE

Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Health Khawaja Imran Nazir has said that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has given a blank cheque to help the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government to overcome dengue epidemic in different parts of the province.

The Punjab chief minister has assured that all kind of help for the purpose, Kh Imran Nazir said. He informed that Primary and Secondary Health Department had already sent a team of experts comprising senior entomologists along with additional director general, health, Dengue Control, to Peshawar on Saturday morning.

Kh Imran Nazir said that he himself along with convener of Dengue Experts Advisory Group Prof Dr Faisal Masood will reach Peshawar. He was speaking to the media persons in a press conference at Directorate General Public Relations, Punjab, here on Saturday morning. He said the Punjab chief minister had responded immediately to the request of people of KP on the media for extending help to control dengue in their province. Immediately the authorities in KP were contacted and offered cooperation in this regard, he added.

Kh Imran Nazir said a mobile health unit from Mianwali had also been dispatched to Peshawar. He said that technical experts and clinicians would train master trainers and guide their doctors regarding SoPs of medical treatment of dengue patients. He said that Punjab government would help the people of KP in the hour of need by setting aside politics. 

Responding to a question, he said that in 2011, Sri Lankan experts helped out Punjab and extended all out cooperation, technical guidelines to control dengue epidemic, and after that, Punjab government evolved a system for dengue control. Today, he said, the same experts of Sri Lanka desired that experts of Punjab help them to control dengue in Sri Lanka. 

He said the technical teams from Punjab also had chemicals used in fogging and spray besides printed literature to create awareness among the people of KP.

surveillance: Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Saeed on Saturday directed that mechanism for dengue monitoring, surveillance and reporting be improved.

Now it is time to do hard work to cope with dengue, the chief secretary issued these directives while presiding over a video link meeting regarding dengue control at Civil Secretariat.

He said that keeping in view the situation in Peshawar, anti-dengue activities must be expedited throughout Punjab. He mentioned that concerted efforts were needed to eradicate dengue once and for all.

He ordered Health Department that, for better patient management, training be given to doctors of private
hospitals. He said that surveillance teams should carry out qualitative work as quality was more important than quantity. He said that entomologists had been deputed in districts and more staff could be hired if required.