PA calls upon govt to stop partying and take action to protect the people

Dengue fever did not start spreading like wild fire throughout the country and killing children suddenly, and the government should immediately stop partying and taking meaningful and serious measures to protect the people from this epidemic, People’s Alliance (PA) said.

In a press release issued by the opposition party today, the government was called upon to take immediate steps to tackle the problem of the killer-fever, claiming the main cause behind the run-away spread of dengue is government negligence.

Maldives had achieved much in the health sector until the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) took over in 2008, PA said. The party also said that the Maldives' achievements in this sector, in comparison with other countries in this region, had been recognized by international bodies as well.

The 3-page press release said that the Maldives, during the Presidency of Uz. Maumoon Abdul Qayyoom, had achieved 5 of the 8 millennium goals and was celebrated as the only country in South Asia to have attained the “Millennium Development Goal Plus” target.

According to the Press Release, the MDP has completely restructured the health-service sector and merely for political purposes, and this has lead to a complete breakdown in the health-services infrastructure of the country.

“In addition to dengue fever which has spread into the whole country, Chickungunya is also spreading fast. Also, we have had reports that cases of controlled diseases like polio have been reported recently”, said the Press Release.

The PA said that the alliance had urged to allocate more money for health-sector in the 2011 budget, due to expert-warnings of serious problems in the health sector. However, in order to create more political posts, to award land-reclamation projects to MDP activists, and for other such purposes, the budget allocation was finalized without due consideration to the PA requests, according to the press release.

Referring to a special football match arranged by the ruling MDP to mark its 6th anniversary when the whole country was alarmed at the death of four children due to dengue, the PA called upon the government to "stop partying", and be sympathetic to the people who are in desperation due to the critical condition, and take effective action to handle the situation.