PM urges families to join dengue fight

Asks each household to spend 30-60 minutes cleaning twice a week

Amid rising dengue cases and deaths, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has urged every family to spend at least half an hour to an hour twice a week cleaning their homes and surroundings to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds.

“Let each of us, every family, spend at least half an hour to an hour twice a week cleaning the places in and around our homes where dengue mosquitoes may breed,” he said in a video message shared on the verified Facebook page of the Prime Minister’s Office.

The PM called for collective efforts to combat dengue, saying public participation was essential to addressing the country’s problems.

Referring to dengue deaths, Tarique said those who had lost loved ones to the disease understood the pain of such losses. Collective efforts to destroy mosquito breeding grounds could spare many families similar suffering, he added.

The PM said the country had around 2.5 crore students at schools, colleges and universities, while organisations such as the Bangladesh National Cadet Corps, Scouts, Girl Guides and Red Crescent had around 40 lakh members.

Members of these groups had been cleaning waste and rubbish across districts and upazilas every Saturday for about a month, he said.

Explaining the importance of such efforts, Tarique said Aedes mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, including water accumulating in corners of homes, along roads and in public spaces.

Although a dengue vaccine had been developed, he said studies had found it was not sufficiently effective, making the elimination of breeding grounds particularly important.

“A government succeeds when it works together with everyone,” he said, adding that his government wanted to involve people across the country in addressing national problems.

He urged everyone to participate in the cleaning drive, expressing hope that collective efforts would help prevent dengue deaths.