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* Advice on Guam's Dengue Control4
http://www.hsvg.org/ Guahan Global Foundation
Guahan Global Foundation P.O. Box 206, Hagatna, GU 96932, USA
(November 15, 2024)Urge worldwide action to save the Pacific Lots of evidence recently suggested that islanders’ voices on climate action have finally been heard and brought to the global stage. We look forward to seeing leaders, experts, and activists from the Pacific community move further at the 29th United Nations Climate Conference, commonly referred to as COP29 and now happening in Azerbaijan, to facilitate more significant worldwide climate action to protect those on the frontlines.   Many people must have noticed that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a rare appearance at the opening of 2024 Pacific Islands Forum in August. According to UN’s press release, he declared in the opening remarks that “plastic pollution is chocking sealife. Greenhouse gases are causing ocean heating, acidification and rising seas. But Pacific islanders are showing the way to protect our climate, our planet and our ocean.”   Mr. Guterres stressed that the region urgently needs more financial support, capacities and technology to speed up the transition to clean energy and so countries can invest in adaption and resilience.   He also added, while the Pacific region is doing what it can, the Group of 20 (G20) most industrialized nations – the biggest emitters of carbon – must step up and lead by phasing the production and consumption of fossil fuels and stopping their expansion immediately.   “If we save the Pacific, we save the world,” the UN chief said.   The UN also released two reports on the sidelines of the forum. A regional report compiled by the World Meteorological Organization showed sea-surface temperatures in the south-west Pacific have risen three times faster than the global average since 1980. It also found that marine heatwaves in the region had roughly doubled in frequency since 1980 and become more intense and longer-lasting.   In addition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in 2021 that the global mean sea level was rising at rates unprecedented in at least the last 3,000 years as a result of human-induced global warming. And, the new UN report titled “Surging Seas in a Warming World” indicated “emerging research on climate ‘tipping points’ and ice sheet dynamics is raising alarm among scientists that future sea-level rise could be much larger and occur sooner than previously thought.”   The Pacific Islands Forum leaders eventually issued an official communique that emphasized “climate change continues to be a matter of priority to the Pacific region” and recognized “sea level rise is a sever manifestation of climate change that threatens Pacific communities.” Accordingly, leaders agreed to elevate the issue of sea level rise “politically,” including at the UN General Assembly.   2024 UN General Assembly in September literally arranged a high level plenary meeting on sea level rise. Leaders and experts recognized in the meeting that the existential threats, for example, livelihoods are destroyed, families gradually move, community cohesion is tested, and heritage is lost, are the hard realities many people in small island states and low-lying countries experience today, not the projections of a coming future. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres therefore called for a strong financial outcome at COP29 to cope with threats caused by sea level rise.   Regarding financial outcome at COP29, it is worth noticing that this year’s conference is actually being called the “finance COP.” Following the historic agreement of creating a loss and damage fund at COP27 to compensate climate-vulnerable countries, COP28 has officially launched the fund. The finer details will be figured out at COP29 before the money actually starts flowing to nations in need next year.   Countries will also need to agree with a new global climate finance goal, known as the New Collective Quantified Goal. In addition to its total figure, COP29 will see discussion on several important terms of the NCQG, including who the donor base and recipients will be, how much will come from public and private sources, and whether it will be in the form of grants or loans.   As a member of the Pacific community, our foundation certainly looks forward to a global financial mechanism helping all Pacific islands’ climate mitigation and adaptation. However, we, together with many climate experts, also want to remind the world that the Nationally Determined Contributions, which outlines how a country will curb emissions, must be renewed every five years under Paris Agreement and the next round due is February 2025. So, COP29 is a crucial moment for countries to raise the bar and hold each other to account.   Nonprofit organization Climate Group also declared at its Climate Week NYC, taking place during the UN General Assembly in September, that the urgent and concrete action is needed to address the emission gap between what scientists say is needed to avoid disastrous climate change and what governments and business are delivered. They therefore called for governments, businesses, and the global climate community to focus on bolder annual to-do lists of climate action.   Their first Global To-Do List that governments and businesses can start taking action to drive results in the next twelve months consists of seven items including support workers to power down coal, unleash renewables, ban relining of coal-based steel furnaces, get serious on methane, stop ignoring energy efficiency, buy clean, and tax fossil fuels to fund the transition.   The UN chief Antonio Guterres actually also warned at the Pacific Islands Forum that the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – built around the 17 goals or SDGs – “is faltering.” Climate Group also reminded the world that we have Net Zero carbon emissions milestone to be accomplished by 2050 as well. The representatives of Pacific islands must make sure that COP29 focuses on what the whole world needs to do right now to get on track.   http://www.hsvg.org/hot_503561.html * Urge worldwide action to save the Pacific 2025-03-05 2026-03-05
Guahan Global Foundation P.O. Box 206, Hagatna, GU 96932, USA http://www.hsvg.org/hot_503561.html
Guahan Global Foundation P.O. Box 206, Hagatna, GU 96932, USA http://www.hsvg.org/hot_503561.html
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Home ﹥ News > News > * Advice on Guam's Dengue Control

Links：https://www.postguam.com/forum/letter_to_the_editor/don-t-so ...

September 20, 2019

Don’t Solely Rely on Insecticide & Repellent


By Edward Lu (The Director of Public Health Office for HSVG Mission)



Many Guam residents are actually looking for mosquito repellent this week. Obviously, the first locally acquired dengue fever case in the last 75 years detected last week, followed by the second one confirmed this Wednesday, is shaking the community.

The Public Health, the EPA and the mayor offices are doing the right things to institute many community-wide measures to avoid more cases. However, the public should be well informed that, according to the neighbor countries’ experience, eliminating breeding sites is the most effective way to prevent dengue. People in the community need to search for potential breeding sites, remove standing water in containers and garbage such as tires, and clean the containers, along with improving environmental and household sanitation.

Let’s take Taiwan as an example. The south part of the island state usually has dengue outbreak of different scales every summer. In addition to spraying insecticide done by local health authority and EPA, the mayor offices over there usually visit every household to remind residents to take action to eliminate mosquito breeding sites.

Senators could join the task force as well. It is exactly what Taiwan’s local senators are doing every summer. If residents need help clean the house or remove standing water during the period of dengue outbreak, a local senator’s team is usually there with their people. 

In addition, Taiwan CDC takes every dengue case seriously, no matter it is locally acquired or imported because increasing imported cases are one of the most important risk factors that could trigger a local outbreak especially when the neighbor countries has already shown an epidemic. In May, Taiwan CDC has warned there have been more cases of imported dengue this year, the most in the period for 10 years. The agency has been closely monitor mosquito density islandwide since then, so the dengue situation is being controlled pretty well in Taiwan so far this year.

Many Guam residents travel back and forth between Guam and the Philippines, where has reported over 600 death cases of dengue in August. Guam’s first case was detected with dengue virus type III, the same type of dengue virus causing outbreak in the Philippines. Therefore, it is highly likely that the number of imported cases have increased and, along with a higher mosquito density, it transmitted the virus in the community. Guam’s Public Health has to learn the lesson and start sharing information about the number of imported dengue cases and community’s mosquito density data for the public’s awareness to avoid the panic caused by breaking news of local cases.

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We sent this article to Guam Daily Post. It was published on the forum page on September 20, 2019.

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