Red Crescent scales up dengue response to reach 300,000

Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS), with support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and its partners, has scaled up a six-month dengue response programme targeting around 300,000 people, mostly vulnerable families and communities in high-transmission areas.
 
Supported by the IFRC’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF), the operation will initially focus on Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal and Chattogram, including camps for displaced people from Rakhine State, Myanmar, and host communities in Cox’s Bazar. The response may be expanded to other affected areas depending on the situation, according to a press release.

The initiative comes amid a sharp rise in dengue cases following heavy monsoon rains in late August. According to Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) data, 67,367 dengue patients had been hospitalised and 201 deaths recorded as of September 23, compared with 43,173 hospitalisations and 184 deaths during the corresponding period last year.

“This is a rapidly evolving public health situation,” said BDRCS Secretary General Md Habibur Rahman Khan, adding that the society is strengthening its efforts to reach people in high-risk areas and help families cope with the health and economic impacts of dengue.

The response will mobilise 1,000 Red Crescent volunteers for awareness campaigns and community clean-up activities. It will also provide hospitals and BDRCS health facilities with 100,000 units of IV saline, 50,000 dengue test kits, 3,000 triple blood bags, 100 apheresis kits and 2,500 mosquito nets. In addition, 2,500 vulnerable dengue-affected households will receive one-time cash assistance of Tk10,000 each, while 150 health professionals will receive orientation on updated national dengue treatment guidelines.

The IFRC has already provided 38,000 NS1 dengue test kits to DGHS and 50 apheresis kits to the BDRCS Dhaka Blood Centre.