Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government will launch a state-wide school-level awareness campaign on Tuesday to strengthen efforts to prevent communicable diseases through greater public participation.
Health Minister K Muraleedharan will inaugurate the campaign at Cotton Hill Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Thiruvananthapuram at 11 am, a statement said on Monday.
General Education Minister N Samsudheen will administer a cleanliness pledge to students, it said.
The campaign, jointly organised by the health and general education departments, is based on the recommendations of the high-power committee constituted by the government to strengthen communicable disease prevention measures.
As part of the initiative, students across the state will take a pledge to promote awareness of communicable disease prevention in the coming days.
The programme aims to create awareness among students about hygiene practices and measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, the statement said.
Special emphasis will be laid on preventing water-borne diseases such as Shigella, which have been increasingly reported in recent weeks, as well as monsoon-related diseases, including dengue, it said.
The statement said unhygienic surroundings and contaminated drinking water and food were the major causes of water-borne and diarrhoeal diseases, while eliminating stagnant water in and around houses was essential to prevent mosquito breeding and the spread of dengue.
The school-level campaign seeks to spread awareness of these preventive measures through students, it added.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
