Special Program to Combat Dengue in Schools

To mitigate the current spread of Dengue and Chikungunya, the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, in collaboration with the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat, has organised a dengue eradication programme across all schools island-wide on 9th July.

A discussion regarding the organisational aspects of this programme, named “Clean Sri Lanka Day”, was held at the Ministry of Education, chaired by Deputy Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Mr. Madura Seneviratne.

The day’s activities will encompass various initiatives, including preventing disease transmission and identifying and eliminating mosquito breeding grounds. The programme aims to foster environmental, social and attitudinal changes among schoolchildren.

Furthermore, in conjunction with this effort, plans are underway to implement activities across all 10,096 schools in Sri Lanka. These will include art and poster exhibitions, drama, cultural and musical performances and awareness lectures, all with the participation of students and teachers.

Support for this initiative is expected from the Ministry of Health and its affiliated institutions, the Sri Lanka Police, the Tri-Forces, the Civil Security Department, District and Divisional Secretariats and Governor’s Offices. There are also plans to extend this programme to Teacher Training Colleges and Vocational Training Institutes in the future.

Those present at the discussion included Mr. Nalaka Kaluwewa, Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education; Ms. Udara Dikkumbura, Additional Secretary, Assistant Director of Education (Piriven), Venerable Kohelwela Vipassi Thera; and Mr. Kapila Senerath, Director (Social) of the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat.