EDITORIAL: Health Ministry must step up public education campaign

IT seems as though at least once a year, every year, the Ministry of Health and the Environmental Health Department embark on a concentrated campaign to eradicate rodents from Barbados, especially the capital city Bridgetown and its environs. This year so far, it has been reported that the baiting programme is costing Government approximately $200 000 annually.

We agree that rodents cannot be allowed to flourish in our surroundings, and therefore support the provision of bait, especially the more easy-to-use anticoagulant rodenticide, free of charge to the general public. The Ministry of Health has allocated $155 000 to the problem and has also been using acute bait in high-density areas.

After all, the consequences of a failure to act would be catastrophic for this country. We have heard about the causes and symptoms of leptospirosis, usually an indication that the level of cases are a source of concern for health officials.

Additionally, officials from the Health Ministry have been appealing to businesses as well as homeowners to pay closer attention to proper garbage disposal as well as the general upkeep of their surroundings. Over the years, these officials have also highlighted the need for something to be done about the vagrants who routinely search and scatter garbage in search of bottles, and have suggested changes and amendments to the existing laws to facilitate easier prosecution of perpetual offenders whose careless actions pose a significant health threat to others.

With the expressed shortage of legal draughtsmen, the road to amending and updating legislation is very often a long and arduous one, and even after all the official steps have been taken and new laws are proclaimed, there is still the aspect of enforcement. While the legislation may very well need to be updated to reflect modern times, Barbados, far too often, seems to have a problem these days with enforcing the law, perhaps because of our small size but more so because of an unwillingness to “hurt your friend”. But this has not always been the case.

One remembers the “good old days” when one dare not have empty containers in the backyard catching water and harbouring mosquitoes, because the public health inspector was sure to visit at some time, and one would be cited for such an offence. And you could be guaranteed that the same inspector would follow up after the allotted time to make sure the situation had been corrected.

The Barbados Advocate is already on record as having expressed our support for Environmental and Public Health officers, while emphasising the vital roles they play in maintaining a clean and healthy society for all. In our view, however, the officers are not as visible as they should be in some areas. Perhaps their numbers need to be increased.

In the interim, it would be useful for the Ministry of Health to improve and expand their public information and education programmes year-round, so that there does not need to be this concerted effort once a year for people to clean up their surroundings.

It is necessary for a country aspiring to first-world status to make such adjustments, but again, this is an indication that things we took for granted before (like cleanliness being next to godliness), are no longer second nature. When it comes to the health and well-being of the country, this indifferent attitude must change.