Negligence in the duties related to public health would lead to catastrophic results: President

Negligence in performance of duties in relation to public health would lead to catastrophic consequences, including the loss of many lives, said the President today.

Speaking on the radio, in his weekly Friday Address, President Nasheed said that the controlling the spread of dengue has been a remarkable achievement, and that the duties of the task force created to counter the spread of dengue were ably performed. He therefore thanked all those who worked in the task force, and those who assisted the performance of the task force functions at various levels, from various platforms, and in various ways.

Dengue, which started spreading epidemically in all parts of the Maldives with the beginning of the June/July rainy season became a serious concern for the country, as 9 deaths occurred in two weeks. The President created a task force to counter the spread of the killer-fever weeks after the disease got hold of thousands, and after a number of children died of the disease.

President Nasheed said that space to work with local councils under the local government mechanism in order to prevent and control diseases and maintain a high achievement with regards to public health had been created now. He requested all government officials and local councils to be extremely careful about public health issues, as negligence about the matter could lead to catastrophic consequences, including deaths of many.

“My request is that all government employees, and all councils to work in cooperation with each other, and to make the target of maintaining public health a continuous affair”, the President said.