Bangladesh Health Watch (BHW) and University Press Limited (UPL) jointly organised a public health dialogue and book launch at BRAC Tower in Dhaka. The event brought together public health experts, clinicians, civil society representatives and publishers, who agreed that dengue has become a year-round public health threat and that only coordinated action can bring it under control.
Speakers called for community-based action at the grassroots level, institutional interventions, and the deployment of trained volunteers working alongside health workers and city corporation staff to prevent Aedes mosquito breeding and curb the spread of the disease.
Dr Ahmed Mushtaque Raza Chowdhury, Convener of Bangladesh Health Watch, chaired the dialogue.
The event marked the launch of "Dengue Prevention Guidelines: What Citizens, Public Health Professionals, and the Government Should Do", written by Dr Kabirul Bashar and published by UPL.
Dr Bashar explained that the book offers practical guidance for citizens, public health professionals and city authorities on how dengue spreads through Aedes mosquitoes and how it can be controlled at the individual, household and community levels. It also contains guidelines for city corporations, supported by photographs from surveillance activities in Dhaka that show real mosquito breeding sites.
Mahrukh Mohiuddin, Managing Director of UPL, also spoke at the event.
Dr Ahmed Mushtaque Raza Chowdhury described dengue as a national crisis and called for control efforts to continue throughout the year. He said these efforts should rest on three principles: identifying cases, assigning clear responsibility, and monitoring whether interventions are effective.
Public health expert Dr Mushtuq Husain urged that NS1 testing be made free at primary healthcare facilities. He also proposed mobile laboratories to serve underserved communities and observation centres for dengue patients who do not need intensive care.
Omar Sadat, President of Gulshan Society, questioned how effective the Tk 200 crore allocated this year for mosquito control by the two Dhaka city corporations has been. He urged authorities to concentrate on accountability and good governance rather than treating dengue as a seasonal problem.
Dr M H Chowdhury Lelin, a family medicine and public health specialist, called for coordinated community-based action, stronger public–private cooperation in healthcare, continuous nationwide mosquito-control efforts and accessible dengue testing.
Citizen's Voice