Health Minister's Statement of Thanks to Public Following National Cleanup Campaign

Fellow Dominicans,

The Ministry of Health and Environment, and the entire Government structure wishes to thank each and every Dominican who participated in one way or another in what I consider to be a very successful National Mosquito Reduction Campaign, last Thursday, February 18th, 2016.

The support and response of the citizens….. and prompt and efficient service by the various truckers around the island was overwhelming and as Minister responsible for Health and Environment, I am comforted and encouraged that the clarion call towards good and responsible behaviour by our citizens was heeded by so many people and this is indeed commendable, because as we have said many times before that the government cannot do it alone, we need everyone to be on board.

Words and time would not permit me to mention the numerous stakeholders, without whose support, the activity would not have been such a success, but I crave your indulgence and understanding as I mention a few persons and institutions, whose efforts should not go unrecognized:

The Honourable Prime Minister and my Cabinet colleagues, for their leadership and intimate involvement in the campaign; Parliamentarians from both sides of the House; other line Ministries such as Trade, Education, Employment;

the National Employment Programme; 4th and 5th formers of secondary schools around the island; the management and staff of the Dominica Solid Waste Management Corporation; Local Government Department and respective village councils; National Pest and Termite Control, various community groups such as Boy Scouts and Cadet Corps, the District Health Teams, Environmental Health Officers, the various health care workers, in fact the entire Ministry of Health staff for their stellar work in planning and executing such a successful event.

I must send out a special Thank you to our corporate partners: ROSS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE; JOSEPHINE GABRIEL AND COMPANY, DOMINICA; DOMINICA RED CROSS; FINE FOODS INC….. 

As of Sunday evening, I’ve been informed a total of 400 truckloads, amounting to 800 tonnes of waste material, most of which would have been potential breeding sites for the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, would have been brought to the Fond Cole landfill and this by itself should speak to the success of this undertaking….

However, the success of this activity should in no way negate the need for us to continue mosquito source reduction in a sustainable way, and we continue to implore and encourage ALL citizens to manage their waste responsibly to prevent the incidence of vector borne diseases.

So once again , I would like to thank everyone for such a laudable effort and look forward to your continued support our future endeavours as together we strive to:

“STOP MOSQUITO BREEDING TODAY, AND KEEP ZIKA AWAY”

 

 I THANK YOU

 

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