City boosts campaign on dengue

City boosts campaign on dengue

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Residents of low-cost apartments about 200 meters from the Pulo
Gadung bus station in East Jakarta looked busy on Friday morning
as Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo and other city officials visited
their neighborhood for a 30-minute cleanup campaign.

City officials have been taking turns to visit housing
complexes and public places every Friday in the city to remind
Jakartans to clean up their homes and surroundings to prevent the
proliferation of dengue, the campaign for which started in
November last year.

"Every Friday not only the governor and the deputy governor,
but also subdistrict heads and village chiefs go around the city
to remind residents of the importance of cleaning up their
neighborhoods," said Jakarta Health Agency head Abdul Chalik
Masulili.

He added that such a preventive action was not easy to
implement. Therefore, it would be continuously performed until
cleanup activities became a habit in the community.

The event was also attended by East Jakarta Mayor Koesnan
Abdul Halim and East Jakarta health agency head Widyastuti.

The campaign was originally scheduled to take place at the
Pulo Gadung bus station, but it was shifted to the low-cost
apartment complex.

An employee at the bus terminal said," We had set up
arrangements for the campaign here but they moved the activity to
the low-cost apartment complex because they said it was easier to
monitor a residential area than a bus terminal."

That day, Suryani, 28 had prepared herself.

"We were told last night at 11 p.m. that Pak Fauzi Bowo was
coming to visit us," said Suryani who wore a sports outfit.

She said that officials' visits were useful for her and her
neighbors as the officials shared their knowledge to prevent the
spread of dengue by cleaning their homes frequently.

The residents were encouraged to drain standing water, cover
water tanks and bury used bottles or cans.

As a result, she said, none of the residents contracted dengue
fever this year. Two adults were infected last year.

Besides the 30-minute cleanup campaign, the health agency has
built posts in community units to check whether the areas were
free of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that spreads dengue.

Dozens of university students also took part in the campaign
against dengue.

"But the most effective way to prevent it is this 30-minute
cleanup program," Abdul Chalik said. (004)