What is the role of City Government in Disease Prevention & Management?

With a prolonged monsoon in various parts of the country, many states struggled with the outbreak of dengue. States like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal and Punjab are witnessing a record number of cases of the mosquito-borne disease. The city of Kolkata is said to be worst hit by recording 800-900 cases daily on an average. Many cities from UP have also reported a considerable number of dengue cases. As per reports, a six member team has been sent to UP by the Union Health Ministry in the districts of Firozabad, Agra and Etawah to collaborate with the state authorities in taking public health measures for dengue management.

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, along with the State Health department, to brief it about the steps taken to check the menace of vector-borne diseases in the city. Local governments play an important role in improving the health and well being of the citizens as they bridge the gap between policy measures and local realities for the coordination of responses to the diseases.

The city of Hoshiarpur saw a substantial decrease in the number of dengue patients this year due to the continuous efforts of the Health department and Municipal Corporation. The measures included door to door surveys, on spot destruction of larvae, fogging, punishing the violators and conducting awareness drives. As a result, only 97 cases of dengue have been reported to date as compared to 1,398 dengue cases last year.

Siliguri Municipal Corporation has engaged 124 Nirmal Sathis in all 47 wards to monitor solid waste management in wards. These female supervisors have been inducted from self-help groups primarily to keep the city clean. With such record cases of Dengue and similar stresses on the public health infrastructure of the cities, city governments need to strengthen their public health capabilities.

What is your city government doing to prevent the spread of the disease? To know more about spread of dengue in kolkata, read.