Waterborne, malnutrition related diseases waning

Recurrence of waterborne and malnutrition related diseases and related deaths have been reduced to the minimum in rural areas in Rangpur division following continuous improvement of all health indexes.

During the past six and a half years, the rural people have achieved laudable success in health, hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, safe drinking water, nutrition and safe delivery following massive government steps and awareness building activities.

The government health officials and workers, union health sub-centres and community clinics have been playing vital roles along with different other departments and organizations concerned, NGOs, WHO and Unicef to achieve the substantial success.

According to principal of Rangpur Medical College and noted medicine specialist Prof Zakir Hossain, recurrence of diarrhoea, cholera, dysentry and worms has been reduced to the minimum.

Community Medicine Specialist of Rangpur Medical College Hospital Dr Fazlul Haque said rate of neonatal, child and maternal mortalities has also been reduced to the minimum as a result of huge awareness among the rural people.

Gynecologist of RMCH Dr Kamrun Nahar Jui and child specialist Shariful Islam said the community clinics were playing due roles in achieving the success through providing health, hygiene and nutrition-related services and information to rural people.

Dr Shahadat Hossain, former Rangpur divisional director (health), said recurrence of waterborne diseases among the people has been reduced to the minimum improving all public health indexes in recent years.

The rural health, hygiene and nutrition situations have marked laudable improvement following re-launching and strengthening of the community clinics and health sub-centres by the government to ensure medicare services for the rural people.

Besides, safe deliveries are being performed at many community clinics reducing rate of maternal and child deaths pushing the country towards achieving the set millennium development goals (MDGs), he further said.

North Bengal Institute of Development Studies Executive Director Dr Syed Samsuzzaman said heath indexes of rural people had marked improvement during the past six and a half years with almost no report of waterborne disease-related deaths now.

Talking to the news agency, Rangpur's Chandanpat Union Parishad Chairman Aminur Rahman said rural people were now aware about health, hygiene, sanitation, personal hygiene, using safe drinking water and they did not use the open places as toilets any more.

Head of Programme Coordination of RDRS Bangladesh Monjusree Saha said the number of waterborne disease-related child and maternal deaths had come down also in the remote char areas where the number was alarmingly high even a decade ago.

The exceptional success has been achieved following hectic government-NGO efforts in motivating rural people for better life with the help of the field-level health workers, local community leaders and public representatives, she added.

Social workers Akhterun Nahar Saki and Shahidul Islam said the success had been achieved by the rural people also following substantial improvement of their socioeconomic conditions in recent years.

Rural housewives Sonavan, Mollika Begum, Sabiha Khatun, Sakuntola Rani, Anarkoli, Rasheda, and Sultana Parveen of different villages said waterborne diseases had disappeared since they started using sanitary latrines, and drinking safe and pure water.

Specialist physicians Dr Mofizul Islam Mantu and Dr Ekramul Hossain said waterborne and malnutrition related diseases and related child and maternal mortalities would touch zero level very soon everywhere in the rural areas.