Scarcity of staff in the Malaria Department is the main reason behind decreasing efficiency of the department. A special drive launched by the department recently to check spread of malaria and dengue, failed to achieve the desired targets.
Ironically, the malaria department is working with only 80 employees, the strength sanctioned around 41 years ago. There is alarming situation in the health sector with the spread of dengue and Malaria, but the authorities are not concerned about the problem.
Surprisingly, the District Malaria Officer, who is in-charge of the department has never approached the State Government demanding more employees so that the works could be executed effectively. District Malaria Officer Dr KB Bajpai told The Pioneer that he has never felt need for more employees.
This department was formed in 1973 under the Anti larva Scheme when the population of the city was only 3 lakhs. Although, the population has increased to 25 lakhs but no new appointments are done yet. With the available staff, the Health Department team is able to cover only in 50 houses regularly for larva survey and spraying medicines. Each team comprises of 5 employees.
“There is no scarcity of employees in the Malaria department. The department is working efficiently with the available staff,” said Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Dr Pankaj Shukla. Besides, there is a steep decline in the number of patients suffering from dengue from last five days, he added.