Dengue task force to hand control to Health Ministry as outbreak calms
10 Jul 2011, 7:44 PM
Neil Merrett
The Ministry of Health is expected to once again take the reins of the national response to a dengue fever outbreak linked to the deaths of eight Maldivians this year, after last week handing control of the focus to a task force appointed to bring island management of the disease under a single body.
A spokesperson for the task force, which has attempted to combine the efforts of the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), government ministries and NGOs, said the body expected its work to be “wound down” today, with the Ministry of Health once again taking control of efforts after infection rates were said to have fallen.
The task force had initially been budgeted to operate from within the social centre at Maafanu School in Male’ for seven days. However, despite initial optimism that the outbreak – which has been labelled by the government as an “epidemic” – would be under control in this time, doubts arose later during last week about the likelihood of meeting such a deadline.
Speaking to Minivan News today, a media spokesperson for the task force said it once again expected management of the virus outbreak to revert back to the Health Ministry, after having itself overcome a number of difficulties allegedly including collaborating with recently established local councils.
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