Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) today called upon the government to declare a "public health emergency" over the deteriorating dengue situation in the country.

In a statement, TIB also urged the government to immediately formulate a roadmap and implement it in this regard.

Besides, it urged the government to form an expert panel akin to what was formed amid the Covid-19 pandemic and take its suggestion regularly with due importance to control dengue.

On the dengue situation, TIB placed a 15-point recommendation to concerned authorities including Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporation for their reconsideration.

The set of recommendations was earlier placed before the authorities in 2019 based on the study "Aedes Mosquito Control in Dhaka City: Governance Challenges and Way Forward", TIB said.

One of the recommendations is to formulate a strategy and action plan "for controlling and managing Aedes and other types of mosquitos" with the participation of different stakeholders where each authority will have specific roles.

TIB said the country's dengue situation has turned "deadly" due to a lack of coordination among authorities responsible to control it, and a lack of proper plan, preparation and effective implementation.

Dengue could not be controlled due to lack of accountability in activities of relevant authorities including large city corporations, irregularities, corruption as well as the undertaking of sporadic and ineffective programmes, it said.

Referring to a media report, the anti-graft watchdog said in the first six months of this year the number of people infected with dengue and the death toll from it have surpassed the record of any previous year.

Recently, the directorate general of health services in its pre-monsoon study has forecasted a severe turn of dengue situation, highlighting an alarming situation over the density in presence of Aedes larvae and mosquitoes in most areas of Dhaka north and south city corporations, TIB said.

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said as dengue has spread across the country, the lack of capacity of city corporations outside Dhaka and municipalities to control mosquitoes should be identified and efforts to resolve those should be taken.

"There was a forecast that the situation might turn deadly. However, efforts of two city corporations in the capital to prevent dengue is frustrating," he added.

Iftekharuzzaman said both city corporations in Dhaka need to work in coordination with the health directorate and apply various methods instead of only relying on insecticide.

Year-long programme should be taken to control mosquitoes while awareness campaigns related to Aedes mosquito and dengue disease should be run and precautionary messages should be conveyed on different mediums including social media, he said.

He also said area-based voluntary groups with the participation of public representatives could be formed while options to include voluntary organisations such as Bangladesh Red Crescent Society in the process could be considered.