A regional vector control strategy was endorsed during the WHO South East Asia Regional Committee held in Maldives, reveals Dr. Arwind Mathur, the Country Representative of World Health Organization (WHO) to the Maldives.
The WHO Country Representative made the remarks while talking about the discussions held during the 70th Regional Committee meeting held in Maldives from September 6 to 10. South East Asia region bears a high burden of vector-borne diseases, including dengue, malaria and lymphatic filariasis. The WHO South East Asia Region Committee meeting held in Maldives discussed ways to combat the issue among other health related problems.
Maldives is fortunate because the efforts have resulted in the elimination of malaria and lymphatic filariasis, but not in the other countries, said Dr. Mathur. Maldives is also faced with the burden of vector-borne diseases like Dengue, but the country's response to these issues are more advanced than regional countries, noted the country representative. Regional countries take Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand as an example, he said. Regional committee discussed ways in which the burden of vector-borne diseases can be controlled in the region, he said.
During the vector control discussions, a regional vector control strategy was endorsed, added Dr. Mathur.
"That would be put in place with the efforts for each country having their own integrated vector management plan. We were also talking about the use of technology for example today we can use GAS mapping to say the breeding sites of mosquitoes. So we know that mosquito breeds in shallow water and fresh water. So if theres environment for vector to breed diseases will spread. So it is important to clean places to ensure this does not happen." said Dr. Mathur.
Whole idea in implementing individually tailored strategies to match an individual country is to learn from experiences like Maldives, to keep countries, cities and communities vector free, he further stated.