Turks & Caicos marks Vector Control Awareness Month

#TurksandCaicos, May 17, 2021 – The Environmental Health Department (EHD) is an arm of the Ministry of Health and Human Services that is concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment that may affect human health. One of the functions of EHD is Vector Control.

During the Month of May 2021, the Environmental Health Department will be observing Vector Control Awareness Month and Caribbean Mosquito Awareness Week under the theme “Small Bites, Big Threats”.

The Mosquito Awareness Week initiative began in 2014 during the 17th meeting of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), when a proposal to establish an annual Mosquito Awareness Week in the Caribbean was adopted.

Mosquito Awareness Week, is an effort of the countries and territories in the Region of the Americas, and is being promoted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to raise awareness about the connection between mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit and to work with communities to prevent mosquito breeding.

The Turks and Caicos Islands Environmental Health Department decided this year to widen our focus to include other vectors that pose significant public health risk, and the various approaches used by the Department to control these vectors while promoting and adopting sustainable behavioral changes in different population groups.