Dear Editor,

The headline read, ‘Health ministry intensifies efforts to prevent dengue outbreak’. The article was published by a notable media outlet on September 18, 2023. In this article readers were informed about the five-fold increase in suspected and confirmed cases of dengue fever and were advised that they could reach out to their respective parish health departments to request fogging in their areas.

Well, I did just that. I contacted the St Elizabeth Health Department to request fogging in a specific area. I did this a number of times. Sadly, nothing has been done.

I reached out to the Ministry of Health via email, and still nothing has been done.

Some of my daily hours are spent calling the Ministry of Health and the St Elizabeth Health Department and, more often than not, the phones ring without answer. The message being sent is this: You are on your own.

This experience has highlighted the inefficiency of the health system in what might be perceive as a simple enough matter. It leads one to question if the ministry actually intensified efforts to prevent a dengue outbreak? Is dengue prevention low priority across the country or is it that dengue prevention in St Elizabeth is low priority?

Reece Walters

reecewalters03@outlook.com