Dengue Prevention & Control: The Lahore Model of Success - Softcover

Sherdil, Khalid; Naru, Faran; Rajwana, Ahmad

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1478225459 ISBN 13: 9781478225454

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012

Synopsis

Just like the Zika virus, or the West Nile virus, the lethal Dengue virus had already ravaged countries such as Sri Lanka and Indonesia for 30 years. But in the city of Lahore, Pakistan, the epidemic was successfully controlled using efficient Public Health procedures. Contrary to the expected damages, as estimated by the World Health Organization's (WHO) figure of 50 million global cases annually, Lahore was able to confine the casualties to 21,292 cases with 352 deaths in 2011, whereas historic data had predicted a 300% higher rate. This was due to a rapid yet integrated plan of action formulated by the government, in which a War Room was established at the Chief Minister's office. The book highlights the roles played by each government department and describes the strategy adopted which led to the success of the Lahore Model for Dengue Prevention & Control. It presents scientific empirical data analysis coupled with a GIS study to validate its findings. The success of this model was further validated in 2012 (consequent to the publication of the book) when the number of casualties was reduced to merely 123 with zero deaths. The book can be used by government practitioners to replicate parts of the methodology used to control the epidemic. It can also be used by researchers as an original primary reference towards future research. Academia can use this as a ground-breaking reference for teaching epidemic control particularly in the field of Public Health/Administration. Finally, the book can be used as an easy reading by general public to take precautionary measures against the epidemic. Simply speaking, the book can be used to save precious lives. "A quick and easy read, without technical jargon; written by government practitioners who risked their own lives working in Dengue wards; an essential reference for any study on epidemic and public health in Pakistan; a potent tool for government officers combating any epidemic" Rina Saeed Khan Winner of the Earth Journalism Award, COP-15, Copenhagen Foreword by: Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif Chief Minister Punjab

About this title

About the Author:

As Director General for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Punjab. Khalid Sherdil worked on Pakistan's largest ever disaster, the Super Floods of 2010. Khalid has worked on seven major disasters, including the Turkish Earthquake 2011, Sindh Floods 2011, Balochistan Floods 2012 and the Sialkot Tornado 2011. Besides Dengue, Sherdil has also written a technical report for Ontario Government through Western University on West Nile virus, another mosquito vector epidemic. Sherdil was the Project Director of the Model Villages Project ($20 million), in which 22 villages equipped with schools, technical training centers, dispensaries, parks, solar electricity, bio-gas, etc., were constructed from scratch all over Punjab's Flood areas. He also led the project for disbursement of flood-damage compensation ($ 325 million in form of debit cards) to over 1 million flood-affected families of Punjab. He is a member of Pakistan's Core Committee for Environment and Climate Change, and has represented the country at COP 16 Cancun, Mexico. Sherdil has worked at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Sempra at their Energy Trading & Risk Management desk in Stamford, CT, USA. He has also worked for Sapient on I.T. projects for Citadel (Chicago, IL), Louis Dreyfus (Danbury, CT) and Tullett Prebon (Wall Street, NY). Sherdil has served as the Deputy Secretary for I.T. Department, and for Agriculture Department, Government of the Punjab. Pakistan. His interest in Agriculture arises from his family farm where he cultivates wheat & rice in addition to Bio-Fuels. Earlier, he served as Assistant Commissioner of Murree and Lahore. Sherdil has Masters and Bachelors degrees in Computer Science (McGill University, QC, Canada and Washington University, MO, USA), and a Liberal Arts Bachelors in Physics (College of Wooster, OH, USA). He is also an Electrical & Computer Engineer (Washington University, MO, USA). He is currently obtaining a Doctoral degree in Computer and Environmental Science (Western University, ON, Canada). His research interests are in use of Cloud Computing for Early Warning in Complex Adaptive Systems using Multi-Agent-SWARMS, and in Technology for sustainable development. Sherdil has twelve research publications in International Conferences/Journals. He also runs Pakistan’s largest arts website www.ArtsPak.com and is a Fellow of LEAD International UK. He is currently co-authoring a photographic book on the Model Villages and the Rural life of Punjab.

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1478225459
• ISBN 13: 9781478225454
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 88