Create mass awareness to combat malaria
Khagrachhari discussion told
Health workers of Brac providing treatment for malaria patients at Kamolchhari under Khagrachhari Sadar upazila yesterdayPhoto: STAR
Speakers at a discussion held here yesterday said every year malaria takes heavy toll in eight upazilas of the hill district due to lack of people's awareness, poverty, unhygienic environment, their unwillingness to use mosquito nets and other reasons. Health Department of the Government of Bangladesh and Brac, a major NGO, jointly organised the discussion to create mass awareness about malaria at the grassroots level. Held at Kamalchhari High School auditorium, the discussion was chaired by Kamalchhari Union Parishad (UP) chairman Saa-U-Prue Marma while it was attended by Sadar upazila nirbahi officer was present as chief guest. About 48 people were killed and 47,000 others were affected by malaria in last one year, the discussants revealed. More than 2,000 people were killed and 1 lakh 80,000 others were affected by malaria in last one decade in the hill district, they said. They lauded the joint initiative undertaken by the Bangladesh government and Brac in controlling malaria from the remote areas of the hill district. They also mentioned the name of Global Fund for Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an international NGO, working to combat the fatal disease here. Two kinds of malaria---Plus Modium Felcifarum and Plus Modium Vivex---are prevalent in the district, they said. Ninety per cent of patients here are attacked by Plus Modium Felcifarum, they said. Among others, Upazila health and family planning officer Dr Shahid Talukder, Upazila Brac manager Fazlur Rahman and The Daily Star correspondent Jasim Majumder took part. After the discussion, Brac health workers provided free treatment to malaria patients and tested their blood for free at some villages.
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