“Dengue is not a problem peculiar to our country or a specific province. It is a global issue and Pakistan is just one of more than one hundred countries, effected by the virus. Fifty million people are infected by this disease annually in the world thus making it the most common viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes”. This was stated by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani while addressing National Conference on Dengue Response on Monday.
He said that dengue has emerged as a challenging public health issue in the recent past giving rise to the need of a thorough technical discourse, in order to guide public opinion and policy making.
He said that it was imperative that technical issues were addressed in a professional manner otherwise it may lead to misinformation and hence the utter chaos and confusion that we may encounter when such situations arise.
He said that dengue was preventable by simple measures and appropriate level of public awareness makes it a relatively easier disease to control as compared to some other very complex conditions.
“Our public health and medical experts are fully capable of handling the situation and have made significant achievements in this aspect”, he said.
He said that the current crisis has indeed re-enforced my belief in the importance of public awareness in fighting epidemics and controlling the spread of disease.
The role of political leadership in protecting the health of the people cannot be over-emphasized, he said.
He said that public representatives need to come forward and play their role in allaying fears, providing the right information and mobilizing the communities to look after their own health through adoption of preventive measures.
He said that the federal government stood firmly by the provincial governments in dealing with the current and all future public health challenges.
