Integrating One Health approach to surveillance, prevention and control of Dengue fever in Bangladesh
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events is fueling the spread of the disease into new locations and extending dengue seasons in countries where the disease is already present. Bangladesh encountered the deadliest outbreak of dengue in 2023/24 once largely limited to Dhaka spreads countrywide as higher rainfall and heat lead to fivefold rise in cases. WHO supported development of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Surveillance, Prevention and Control of Dengue which demands multisectoral engagement of different sectors and local authorities. In this regard, WHO supported the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Bangladesh to organize the national workshop aimed at integrating One Health approach to surveillance, prevention and control of dengue in Bangladesh with multi stakeholder participation from 19-20 May in Dhaka.
The purpose of this workshop was to ensure a wider multisectoral collaboration with One Health, Whole Government and Whole of Society approaches. The workshop was designed to come up with a joint plan of action for the implementation of the NSP. A total of 88 participants representing health, environment, municipalities and academic institutions including donors and partners attended the workshop. Dr Rokeya Sultana, the Minister of State for Health from the Government of Bangladesh inaugurated the workshop assuring political commitment for Dengue prevention and control.
The overview of the Dengue situation in Bangladesh: measures implemented and targeted interventions for prevention and control and observation & recommendation from previous Dengue outbreak and the impact of climate changes on Dengue fever were presented to set the scene. The socioeconomic impact of Dengue and the role of municipal corporations in Dhaka during Dengue outbreaks were also presented. The group work on following 5 thematic areas/pillars of the surveillance, prevention and control of Dengue fever were organized to discuss in details issues and challenges, bottleneck & threats, perspectives and priorities, scopes & opportunities and suggesting pragmatic solution with wider multisectoral engagement (& development of a roadmap) for Dengue prevention and control. There is a need of enhancing epidemiological data-driven entomological intervention and vice versa. Community awareness and engagement, behavioural and cultural insights of communities should be taken into account for vector control.
