Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has urged people across Bangladesh to help combat the growing dengue threat by cleaning their homes and surrounding areas for at least 30 minutes on two days each week to eliminate Aedes mosquito breeding sites.
The prime minister made the appeal in a video message shared on the verified Facebook page of the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday night, October 14.
“Address the risk of dengue and destroy Aedes mosquito breeding sites,” he said in his message to the nation.
Tarique Rahman said public participation was essential to tackling the problem, recalling how people had united during the 1971 Liberation War, the 1990 movement against autocracy and the 2024 mass uprising.
“If we could accomplish all those things together, why can’t we contribute, little by little, to solving the other problems facing our country?” he said.
The prime minister noted that people of different ages were falling ill or dying from dengue, adding that families who lose loved ones understand the pain of such losses. He said collective efforts could help protect many people from that suffering.
He said Bangladesh has around 25 million students at schools, colleges and universities. In addition, organisations such as the Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC), Scouts, Girl Guides, the Red Crescent and the Red Cross have around four million members combined.
According to the prime minister, students and members of these organisations have been trying every Saturday for nearly a month to clean up rubbish and waste in districts and upazilas across the country as part of the ongoing effort.
He explained that Aedes mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, whether it collects in corners of homes or in different places along roads and public spaces. Waste accumulation can also contribute to conditions in which water collects and mosquitoes multiply.
Tarique Rahman said that although a dengue vaccine had been developed, he believed removing stagnant water and accumulated waste was the most effective way to prevent the disease, referring to concerns about the vaccine’s effectiveness.
The prime minister called on every individual and family to spend at least 30 minutes to an hour twice a week cleaning their homes, surrounding areas and places along their usual routes where dengue mosquitoes could breed.
He said a government could succeed only by working together with the people to address the country’s problems.
“My government wants to solve the country’s problems together with all its people,” he said, adding that solving the country’s problems meant solving the problems faced by everyone. Tarique Rahman expressed hope that collective efforts to eliminate mosquito breeding sites would help save lives and protect people from the continuing threat of dengue.
