Gregory McBurney
UNC Shadow Minister for Local Government and St Augustine MP Khadija Ameen said the government was not allocating enough resources to tackling dengue.
The Caribbean Public Health Agency (Carpha) has recorded 229 laboratory-confirmed cases and two deaths in Trinidad and Tobago as of July 9, up from 126 cases on June 21.
Speaking at a press conference at the UNC headquarters in Chaguanas on July 9, Ameen said he was aware of numerous cases where different businesses in the region were not given the resources they needed to prevent the spread of the virus.
The virus spreads to humans from mosquitoes and is common in tropical and subtropical climates.
Symptoms include high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and a rash.
Ameen said Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh was ignoring the reality and politicizing the issue.
She accused the government of not allocating sufficient resources and personnel to government agencies crucial to preventing the spread of the disease.
“Entomologists, public health inspectors, environmental health specialists, data collection and mosquito surveillance are all necessary professions for a comprehensive and integrated approach to mosquito control.”
Ameen said the Vector Control Agency would take the lead in developing a prevention strategy, with local businesses providing manpower to support the effort.
She said UNC has received reports of staffing shortages in some units, while other units have no vehicles at all or only partially functional vehicles that employees are repairing at their own expense.
“The department is under the Minister of Health and is supposed to take the lead and be supported by local authorities. But that is not happening.”
“Due to lack of proper management and the incompetence of the Minister of Health, there is a shortage of resources, manpower, vehicles, equipment and chemicals.”
She said lack of efficient management was hindering the fight against the disease.
“It’s also creating problems because health agencies are not sharing enough information with local businesses that would help guide their thinking and their approach to combating it.”
Ameen accused the government of being reactive rather than proactive.
“Has the government implemented additional surveillance, prevention and control measures? Has the government done enough to reduce the transmission of the virus and mosquito outbreaks in Trinidad and Tobago? The answer is clearly no.”
The ministry said it would impose fines of up to $3,500 on anyone found to be allowing mosquitoes to breed on their premises.
She said the fines were unfair because budget cuts had forced some local businesses to reduce the frequency of trash collection services.
“We have long stretches (of roads) and lonely roads where people dump their rubbish and local authorities are struggling to clean and tidy up these dirty places. These are all opportunities for mosquitoes to get a drink of clean water. That’s why we are calling on the Minister of Local Government to encourage the implementation of a comprehensive drainage cleaning programme in all local authorities.”
Apart from imposing fines, Ameen said there are many other measures that can help prevent the spread of the disease.
“The UNC government was once called the ‘box drain government’ and box drains are one of the measures to improve drainage and stop the spread of dengue fever.
“We are calling for increased litter prevention inspectors in all local authorities. We want a comprehensive open space removal programme in all areas, including tackling abandoned vehicles and illegal dumping sites. Only then is it fair to ask residents to pay a $3,500 fine for non-compliance.”
This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.
United National Congress (UNC) Shadow Minister for Local Government and St Augustine MP Khadija Ameen said the government was not allocating enough resources to tackling dengue.
The Caribbean Public Health Agency (Carpha) has recorded 229 laboratory-confirmed cases and two deaths in Trinidad and Tobago as of July 9, up from 126 cases on June 21.
Speaking at a press conference this morning, Ameen said he is aware of numerous instances where various local businesses are not being given the resources they need to prevent the spread of the virus.
The virus spreads to humans from mosquitoes and is common in tropical and subtropical climates.
Symptoms include high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and a rash.
Ameen said Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh was ignoring the reality and politicizing the issue.
She said there were many measures that could help prevent the spread of the disease other than imposing fines and accused the government of being reactive rather than proactive.
The ministry said it would impose fines of up to $3,500 on anyone found to be allowing mosquitoes to breed on their premises.
“The UNC government was called the box drain government and box drains are one of the measures to improve drainage and stop the spread of dengue,” Ameen said.
