In recent years, a routine call at the start of every summer has been to consolidate early actions to contain mosquito spread so that the threat remains manageable later in the year. Yet, almost every year, mosquito-borne diseases have broken out across the country to varying degrees and with differing effects. This year is no exception. The situation, as we have highlighted in a recent editorial, is steadily worsening, and with it, it is becoming clearer that a business-as-usual approach will not work. What we need is a comprehensive plan that takes into account the evolving nature of the threat and mobilises all relevant state agencies to mount a response befitting a national health crisis.
As experts tell us, the nature of the problem itself is changing fast. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and increasing humidity have created near-ideal conditions for mosquito breeding across much of the country. Research indicates that current temperature ranges are highly conducive mosquito proliferation as well as the transmission of the viruses they carry. While such climatic shifts cannot be easily reversed, they make well-thought-out human interventions all the more urgent. And this is where Bangladesh is failing, with persistent shortcomings witnessed in mosquito control programmes, urban planning and governance, and public healthcare.
In particular, the state’s mosquito control programmes remain fragmented at best, and reactive and insufficient at worst. It is common knowledge now that administrative disruptions over the past two years have undermined routine operations, allowing breeding grounds to flourish. Essential tasks such as drain cleaning, waste removal, and the treatment of stagnant water bodies have not been carried out with the regularity or effort required. While the new government has promised proper measures with many relevant institutions seeing change of guards and methods, their impact has been limited.
The consequences of this sustained gap in enforcement have been visible across the country. Dengue, once largely confined to cities and specific time of the year, has become a year-round nationwide concern. Other mosquito-borne diseases—including malaria, chikungunya, and the potential threat of Zika—are also expanding in scope. Rural communities are particularly vulnerable in this reality, as they don’t have the healthcare infrastructure cities do. Meanwhile, the unchecked proliferation of Culex mosquitoes in urban areas also points to persistent failures in sanitation and drainage management. The scale and complexity of the challenge clearly demand a break from the routine response we are still seeing.
We urge the authorities to adopt a coordinated approach to contain the mosquito threat, one that integrates expanded mosquito control operations with effective urban management, waste disposal, and public health preparedness across urban and rural areas. They must treat the problem with the seriousness it deserves.
