Hundreds of children, parents campaign for "Climate Care, Dengue Free"

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Hundreds of children and parents of the Child Campaigner Save the Children Indonesia group in Jakarta initiated an educational movement with the theme "Climate Care, Dengue Free" in the Car Free Day (CFD) area.

"Through this campaign, we want to show that we — children and young people — as the most affected parties, can help stop the suffering due to dengue fever, which is feared to continue to occur," said a member of the group, Elvira, in an official statement, Sunday.

"Now is the time for us to care about the climate and eradicate mosquito larvae for a better environment," she added.

The Jakarta Provincial Health Service (Dinkes) in a meeting with partners at City Hall reported that as of September 2024, around 12 thousand cases of dengue fever (DBD) had occurred in Jakarta.

They also showed data showing the total number of dengue fever cases nationally reached 210,644 cases, with 1,239 deaths reported from 482 districts/cities in October 2024.

The figure shows a threefold increase compared to the same period in 2023.

"This campaign activity is part of the National Campaign for Climate Generation Action – Save the Children Indonesia which aims to ensure that children and families most affected by the climate crisis can survive and adapt," said Elvira.

Child Campaigner activists living in Jakarta observed that a lot of piled up garbage, especially that containing stagnant water such as used cans, tires, plastic bottles, or other containers, became an ideal habitat for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the main cause of dengue fever transmission.

This condition is worsened by the arrival of the rainy season, where several areas in Jakarta are still found to have puddles that have the potential to become nests for dengue fever mosquito larvae.

"The increase in dengue fever cases is partly due to the El Nino phenomenon and climate change," said Interim Chief Advocacy, Campaign, Communication & Media Save the Children Indonesia Tata Sudrajat.

"Today's children's initiative is expected to raise public awareness to care more about the environment by taking real action to prevent the increasing number of dengue fever cases. Because one life is very valuable," he added.

He said the increase in the earth's temperature was one of the factors that accelerated the life cycle of the Aedes aegypti mosquito which contributed to the increase in dengue fever cases.

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"The problem of dengue fever in Jakarta threatens the health and survival of children. Children who are infected with dengue fever will have their school activities, socializing, and playing disrupted, and even face the risk of death," he said.

He also explained that the “Climate Care, Dengue Free” movement was part of a series of campaigns that had been carried out by Child Campaigner Jakarta for the past 5 months.

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Besides the fun walk, hundreds of children, young people, and CFD participants can also take part in mini talk shows, educational exhibitions, interactive games about the climate crisis and preventing dengue fever, and other interesting activities.

Various dialogues, education, and school competitions have also been carried out with themes that encourage schools to be free from dengue mosquito larvae.