Dengue: Health Minister condems officials
by Ananda KANNANGARA
Health Minister Maithreepala Sirisena on Friday said that Zonal
Education officials and principals in public schools should be severely
dealt with for not motivating schoolchildren to help the Government's
on-going dengue eradication program. The Health Minister told the Sunday
Observer that although 4.3 million schoolchildren in the country could
play a vital role to destroy mosquito breeding grounds, only a small
percentage take part in such programs.
He said that last Friday's massive dengue eradication program
launched in Colombo and suburban areas with the participation of a
number of schoolchildren and Army personnel was very successful.
"Such programs must be launched even in other districts," he said.
Health Department's latest statistics indicate 22,159 dengue cases
were reported from various parts of the country from January 01 to July
23 this year and 164 persons, including children lost their lives during
the same period.
|