Following a dengue outbreak in the Capital city, an awareness campaign has been launched as a counteractive. The Capitol territory administration in collaboration with District Health Office has taken this initiative. The campaign was led by Deputy Commissioner, Irfan Nawaz Memon, and District Health Officer, Dr. Zaeem Zia. The execution of this was as follows: the members handed out pamphlets to the public by visiting certain areas. Additionally, they were encouraging the public to follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’S) devised to combat dengue. Another effort to counteract the spread is that teams have collaborated to find and eradicate dengue larvae throughout the city. Visiting residential/commercial areas to directly detect larva is an approach that has previously proven useful in areas like lahore, Peshawar. Furthermore, these precautionary measures before the viral disease spreads are crucial in avoiding bigger catastrophes.
Potential Benefits of the Dengue Campaign
Generally there are many benefits to an awareness campaign, other than prevention, they contribute in educating the public, help increase Community engagement and can permanently change behavioural patterns. The primary aim of campaigns, such as this one is to educate the people about this health condition. Without the knowledge it is impossible to deal with the illness. For instance if we consider the example of covid; the virus was new and therefore there was no prior research to refer to. This uncertainty and cluelessness is essentially what people face if they are not informed about the disease at all. Following this, if they are well-informed, they are much more likely to take the necessary steps as well like precautions or the right treatments. Additionally, communal solidarity is cultivated as people are encouraged to address shared challenges.
However, all of these benefits can only exist if the public actively responds to the campaign. Accordingly, the DC highlighted that the effectiveness of the dengue prevention campaign heavily depends on citizens’ active involvement.
