Experts at a webinar stressed introducing integrated mosquito management (IMM) method and ensuring monitoring and evaluation of field- performance of insecticides and equipment to tame mosquito menace in the country’s urban areas including Dhaka.
IMM is a decision- making process that anticipates and prevents pest activity and infestation by several strategies to achieve long term solutions, according to National Pest Management Association, USA.
They in a keynote paper also identified loopholes of laws, rules and policy issues, lack of trained human resources and regular entomologists at city corporations and tendency to buy insecticides without field trial as some major drawbacks to control spread of mosquitoes.
The Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) Chairman and entomologist Dr Manjur A Chowdhury and former chief scientific officer of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Touhid Uddin Ahmed presented the keynote paper styled ‘Mosquito problems in urban areas: Way forwards to solve it’ at the event, organised by the CGS.
Architect Mubasshar Hussain and senior journalist Masood Kamal also spoke on the occasion.
Lack of effective and inadequate equipment and absence of year-round surveillance of mosquito density and monitoring and evaluation of mosquito control are hindrances to the efforts, according to the keynote paper.
Speaking at the function, Dr Manjur A Chowdhury also underlined the need for monitoring of insecticide resistance using WHO test protocol to control the mosquito menace.
Terming the government’s efforts as inadequate, he insists there is no lawful obligation for basic principles, methods and materials of integrated mosquito control which is hampering the mosquito control.
Imposition of exorbitant import duty on pesticides used in public health should be reduced drastically and prolonged delay in registration of pesticides should be ended, Dr Manjur added.
Touhid Uddin said the recent crash programmes which were launched by both the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) should continue.
He also stressed the need for supervision, monitoring and review of the programmes to ensure the efficacy of it.
Lauding the keynote paper, architect Mubasshar said the premises and rooftops of all government offices including police stations and Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) still remained the mosquito breeding grounds.
Lawful action should be taken against the heads of all government offices who are indifferent to take measures to clean their mosquito breeding grounds, he added.
Senior journalist Masood Kamal also lamented that the recommendations of experts in the field of entomology are not being implemented rather, so-called experts are involved to control the mosquito menace.
People of all walks of life should raise their voice for an integrated approach to this end, he added.
CGS Executive Director Zillur Rahman moderated the programme.