Editorial
Health scare
Public confidence must be restored
We are shocked and saddened by the tragic death of a six-year old girl in Munshiganj, and concerned about reports of another four hundred children who have also fallen sick in the past few days. The first order of the day must be to ensure the welfare of the sick children, and ensure that they receive the treatment necessary to regain their health.
We also commend the government's formation of a probe body to look into the causes of this health scare, especially in light of the widespread belief among parents of the affected children that the sickness has been caused by Vitamin A capsules and deworming tablets provided through a government campaign.
The authorities have stated categorically that the capsules and pills cannot be the reason for the sicknesses, that there is no problem with respect to their storage, expiry date, or quality control, and thus far we have no reason to doubt their word.
Nevertheless, it is important for the government to get all the relevant facts out in the open in front of the public and to share with the public whatever information is available, both about its public health campaign that has come under scrutiny and the current health scare.
Indeed, there appears to be what can only be called a propaganda campaign, or, at the very least, a campaign of disinformation about the intention of the government and the donor agencies behind the initiative to provide the Vitamin A capsules and deworming tablets to children. The government must take very step to counter such propaganda and ensure that the disinformation is dispelled.
In short, public confidence needs to be restored as soon as possible. Thus, much now depends on how the government handles this scare, and we would hope that sagacious and mature handling of the crisis will go a long way to restoring the public confidence which will in turn minimise any negative fallout.
Furthermore, if the government does not handle the situation efficiently and with transparency, this will run the risk of jeopardising much-needed future nutrition and public health programs. It is thus imperative that the government do everything in its power to bring this crisis to a swift close and restore public confidence in full.
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