Community participation needed to defeat vector-borne diseases: Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan stressed the importance of community participation to prevent and control vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue and chikungunya at an awareness campaign on Wednesday.

The Jan Jagrukta Abhiyaan will continue for three days in Delhi.

The minister reiterated the prime minister's commitment towards making India "swachch and swastha" (clean and healthy).

He said among various steps strategies needed to be put in place to combat malaria, dengue and chikungunya, "our main focus should be on controlling the vector itself".

"It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that we don't create an environment for these mosquitoes to breed", like stagnant water, he said.

Vardhan stated that community efforts can minimize the disease burden in the country.

"Simple measures can be taken for keeping the surroundings clean and free of aedes mosquitoes. Success of the vector control programme is related to community participation and ownership," he said.

He said the campaign is aimed at promoting awareness on the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases.

This is probably the first time that three governments national, state and local bodies will converge in their efforts to mobilise the community for a public health activity, he added.

Vardhan also interacted with children of Nigam Pratibha Vidhyalaya, Gulmohar Park, and said children are the true ambassadors of health.

He cited the example of the polio campaign and said it was successful because children took the message to every household.

"We want children to spread the message of cleanliness and healthy life practices.

"When children learn about healthy behaviours, they pass this information to their families, triggering a chain reaction," he said.