BANGLADESH is a densely populated country in the tropical zone where 3,496 people live per square mile. And, more densely populated is Dhaka city where 5,001 people per square mile. If people in this densely populated area do not adhere to proper health rules, it is almost impossible to prevent infectious diseases.
Most people are involved in ensuring their movement and food security. But, the environment is turned into a place for various types of vectors. The Aedes mosquito, the carrier of dengue, has become unmanageable today. The dengue virus that grows in mosquitoes takes away its virulence phase. Covid-19 is could also break out. Farmers have contaminated the entire environment with an indoctrinated application of insecticides and chemical fertilisers for food production and make places secure harbours of mosquitoes and other vectors and microorganisms.
Similarly, global temperature has added to a rapid growth of germs and mosquitoes. In such a situation, the presence of toxic substances in food has only brought forth some negative dimension. That is why the slogan for the security of food has become the of pure food. The problems are reflected in public health, causing dengue along with non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, stroke, heart failure in every household. Even if the whole country is converted into a hospital, the problem will not be solved. What is the solution? The solution lies in public health education along with research and its proper implementation.
The growth regulatory hormones that cows are fed are not healthy for humans. What could be the alternative? Scientists will fix it. Ordinary people should understand that the application of unwarranted pesticides is the cause of other diseases. Environmental pollution is one of the causes of vector-borne diseases. An uncontrolled consumption of junk food, a major source of complex diseases such as diabetes, is the cause of obesity.
In the early 1970s, the population was seven and a half million. Farm land was three times what we now have. Yet, there was the shortage of food. Now the population has increased almost three times. And, Bangladesh has a fair food security. Bangladesh is the fourth in the world in fish production. What worked behind this is the Bangladesh Agricultural University, founded in 1961. If the university was not founded, this large population would have hard times. The university set the path for the the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, etc.
Similarly, there is the need for sustainable education and research. Therefore, the establishment of a public health university has become a crying need. Since the establishment of the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine, it has worked as an apex institution in public health education. The institution could be turned into a public health university to enhance the scope for work. A major task of the university would be to find practical solutions through systemic research keeping to the importance of risk factors associated with infectious and non-infectious diseases.
A public health university in a densely populated country is, therefore, a must. This would guarantee of a better life by protecting the population. The university would focus on research and laboratories. Public health would be improved. The economy will remain protected.
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Professor Dr Md Golam Sharower is head of entomology in the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine.