The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is carrying out an enhanced dengue mitigation programme in the parish of St Ann, as part of efforts to combat the dengue virus. NSWMA Executive Director, Audley Gordon says citizens must now take responsibility for the solid waste that they generate in preventing mosquito borne diseases.
Currently, clean up work is underway in Browns Town St Ann as workers from the NSWMA remove debris, old stoves and other refuse from homes.
” We want to appeal to people to begin to seriously take responsibility for the solid waste that they generate. The Government of Jamaica can and must do their part. The National Solid Waste Management Authority must play its part, ” says the Executive Director of the NSWMA.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness is reportedly spending approximately 1 billion Jamaican dollars for an enhanced intervention response to dengue. On November 12, the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton announced that to date, the country has provided 60 million to the NSWMA for solid waste removal and allocated $320 million to municipal corporation for vector control activities.
“What are we trying to say to them – all these old cans, old pans, old fridge, old tv – all those old bulky stuff that we throw out at will is the source of dengue take them out of your backyard, ” Gordon appealed.
Residents are also being urged to remove old tyres from their homes as these might become breeding sites for mosquitoes. The National Solid Waste Management Authority will be extending its clean up efforts beyond the festive season.
KHADIJAH THOMAS
