Attachments
Date when the trigger was met
2023-07-16
What happened, where and when?
Since the onset of 2023, Bangladesh has faced a significant escalation in the dengue outbreak, with a distressing 321,179 hospitalizations and 1,705 fatalities recorded from January to December. Bangladesh experienced the highest number of dengue cases and fatalities in the last five years. From July 2023, Bangladesh saw a sharp rise in dengue-infected cases (43,854 cases), and the highest number of dengue cases were recorded (79,598 cases) in September 2023. The highest death toll was also recorded (396 people) in September 2023.
Dhaka city, at the epicenter of the outbreak, had only 63 hospitals (20 public and 43 private) out of several hundred hospitals and clinics designated to report dengue cases to the surveillance system in July 2023. To address the surge in patients, Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute established a separate dengue cell, while the 800-bed Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Hospital was declared a denguededicated hospital. The government called upon all medical colleges and public hospitals across the nation to open dedicated dengue wards and corners to accommodate the rising number of infections and fatalities. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) of Bangladesh reported that mosquito density was much higher than in the previous years due to the late arrival and prolonged duration of the monsoon season.
On July 18, 2023, a record-breaking 1,533 patients were admitted to hospitals due to dengue, bringing the total number of hospital admissions to 24,000 as of the same date (with 63 per cent male and 37 per cent female patients). Furthermore, a total of 127 fatalities were reported (Source: DGHS Report, 18 July 2023).
During a pre-monsoon survey from 18-27 June 2023, the DGHS conducted an assessment of 3,150 households across 98 wards in Dhaka's two city corporations. The survey revealed that 20.04 per cent of houses under the Dhaka North City Corporation and 15.47 per cent of houses under the Dhaka South City Corporation had Aedes mosquito larvae, the carriers of dengue. Additionally, Dhaka City Corporation witnessed higher dengue cases and fatalities in July 2023 compared to the same period in 2021 and 2022. As of 18 July 2023, Dhaka city alone accounted for approximately 80 per cent of the year's dengue-related deaths and 64.5 per cent of total hospitalizations
BDRCS and IFRC closely monitored the dengue situation since the beginning, and in response to the escalating situation, BDRCS called an emergency coordination meeting on 16 July 2023, at the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC). Considering the severity of the dengue situation and the requests from city corporations and DGHS, BDRCS formally requested the IFRC on 18 July 2023, to allocate the IFRC Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) to assist in addressing the outbreak.