Minas United in the Fight against Mosquitoes: second D-Day mobilizes 34 municipalities in the Sete Lagoas Health Region

This Saturday, 3/23, social mobilization actions marked the second D-Day to combat Aedes in the state. The State Department of Health of Minas Gerais (SES-MG) and 34 municipalities in the Regional Health Unit (URS) of Sete Lagoas joined forces to eliminate mosquito outbreaks, reduce the number of cases and preventable deaths.

At the Sete Lagoas URS, there were community and cleaning efforts, lectures and theaters in schools, educational walks, among other actions to combat arboviruses that brought together health professionals, partners and the community. For Fabrício Júnior Alves Teixeira, regional health superintendent of Sete Lagoas, the sum of efforts between public authorities and society as a whole reflects the importance of the actions of the Minas Unida Contra o Mosquito movement.

“We had 97% of our cities join the campaign, which shows the strength and unity of our region in the fight against mosquitoes. The actions directed in Curvelo, the municipality that hosts the territory’s Health microregion, had a great involvement of government entities and partners, but mainly aimed at citizens, so that they understand their responsibility for eliminating outbreaks and raising awareness about the disease”, he highlighted. Teixeira.

To help the population, who have dedicated themselves to cleaning their homes and the endemic agents who carry out the inspections, on this second D-Day of mobilization, the municipalities focused their actions on collecting unused materials such as tires. In Cachoeira da Prata, the Municipal Health Department exchanged recyclable and unusable material for gifts. In Cordisburgo, another municipality in the region, tires were collected from tire shops in the municipalities and in the district of Lagoa Bonita.

In Pompéu, the collection of materials that can accumulate stagnant water was also one of the main focuses through the “conscious exchange” initiative, collecting paper, various packaging, metal, glass, plastic bottles, among others and exchanging them for gifts since the month of February. For the municipal secretary of Health of Pompéu, Fernanda Guimarães, the municipality has carried out several actions called “D-Day – Pompéu against dengue” which joined forces with Minas Unida of the Government of Minas Gerais. She explains that the actions “consist of mobilization and social responsibility in combating the arbovirus epidemic. Last Saturday, we carried out another cleaning effort, and it was important to highlight the work of Health Surveillance professionals and other partners involved in collecting materials that could be breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquito.”

Minas United against Dengue in Schools

On this second D-Day of mobilization, another initiative that stood out was the intensification of actions in municipal and state schools. In Curvelo, students from Bolívar de Freitas schools, Interventor Alcides Lins, Major Antônio Salvo, Eurípedes de Paula, Sister Clarentina, Sister Raimunda Marques and the Sopro de Vida Social Project joined the actions of “Minas Unida contra o Mosquito”. The Regional Superintendent of Education of Curvelo, Elizete Alves Matoso, highlighted that the school teams organized themselves and took to the streets of the municipality, with support from the Military Police of Minas Gerais and the Municipal Health Department. “With banners, posters and support from With fanfare, at a time to draw people’s attention to the importance and daily care to prevent the spread of mosquitoes, schools occupied the streets of Curvelo and also carried out an educational blitz. It is important to highlight that schools are carrying out permanent awareness actions”, noted Matoso.

In Corinth, actions to combat Aedes aegypti began in educational institutions with a puppet theater presentation, entitled “Mosquitão Dengoso”, for students from municipal, state and private schools. Cristiana Alves Viana Silvério, 45 years old, Health Surveillance coordinator, reported that “for each age group we adopt a different approach, but with the message of actions to prevent and combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito”, said Silvério, who also highlighted the partnership from the carnival block Bloco Bragas Bra in the municipality’s educational blitz. “It was a different action because we stopped at strategic points and the group started playing and people stopped to watch”, concluded the coordinator.

By Nayara Souza