The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

Professionals of national and international healthcare institutions at a roundtable yesterday said insecticide-treated mosquito nets could help reduce deaths due to malaria effectively in the country.

They said the outbreak of the disease is taking a serious turn in 13 districts particularly in mosquito-infested areas in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of the country as 98 percent people of the areas are under the risk of malaria.

The media can be a most powerful apparatus to aware the people about the disease, the professionals said adding that most of the malaria-caused deaths happen due to lack of awareness among the rural people.

The professionals were addressing the roundtable on 'Role of the media in controlling malaria' at BRAC centre in the city.

Vice-President of Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) Parvez Khan chaired the roundtable, jointly organised by the DRU and the BRAC. Senior journalist Farid Hossain spoke as the special guest. Professors of different medical colleges, representatives of WHO and ICDDR,B, civil surgeons and journalists participated in the roundtable. The disease attacks over 30 crore people every year in the world, while it claims 11 lakh mostly under five children and expectant women, said Dr Moktadir Kabir, a professional of BRAC Health Programme (Malaria), while presenting a keynote paper on the topic of the roundtable. Professor Dr Imran Bin Yunus of Chittagong Medical College favoured strengthening monitoring activities in the rural areas, where health workers are providing the malaria-infected people with treatment. The spraying of mosquito killing insecticide needs to be expanded to five percent areas of the country where access to the areas is not easy, said Dr Yusuf. Dr Mohamamd Abul Fayez, Director General of Health Directorate, said the government has taken a number of programmes to reduce the risk of attacks by the malaria on 1.9 crore people by 50 percent by 1012.