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Kuala Lumpur, 30 November 2019 – The launching ceremony of the Dengue Awareness Drawing Competition and Exhibition 2019 (Kuala Lumpur and Selangor) was held in University of Malaya Art Gallery, on Saturday, 30 November 2019. The ceremony was officiated by Dr. Rose Nani Mudin, Head, Disease Control Division, Vector Borne Disease Sector, Ministry of Health. This event was attended by students, parents and teachers from various primary and secondary schools in Klang Valley.

The Chairperson of this programme, Dr. Chen Chee Dhang and his research team has conducted a questionnaire survey with 900 graduate students in the Klang Valley in the past one year. The results showed that 17.18% of graduate students were not aware how dengue is being transmitted, 23.54% were not aware dengue is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, and 15.16% did not know about the common symptoms of dengue fever. This research output indicated the need for a Dengue Awareness Programme particularly among students, to educate our youngsters.

“With the objective to promote dengue awareness among the community, all stakeholders should hand in hand take the initiative to improve the health of our citizens. The drawing competition is an effort to promote dengue awareness for the first time among primary and secondary schools in Klang Valley, followed by the Dengue Awareness Exhibition on all winner’s artwork at UM Art Gallery. This programme is a joint effort by Research Center Biodiversity and Ecological Research Network (BEN), University of Malaya (UM) and Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (MSPTM), with the participation of schools in the Klang Valley, with the aim of creating a healthy Malaysia, free from dengue through the artistic creativity of students,” said Dr. Chen Chee Dhang, Chairperson, Dengue Awareness Drawing Competition and Exhibition 2019.

Profesor Dr. Rosli Ramli, Head of Research Center BEN stated, “The infectious diseases carried by mosquito vectors are an increasing public health concern in recent decades. This event is held with the aim to create public awareness against dengue and its vectors. This programme consists of two major components: the first is awareness drawing competition which started in mid August until mid October followed by the exhibition from November to February 2020, to attract students, teachers and parents to acquire information on Aedes and dengue through the production of artwork. The joint organizations are grateful to all students, teachers and parents from various schools in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor for support and encouragement given with nearly 200 artwork received for this competition. The artworks together with the scientific knowledge will be open to the public for three months from 30 November 2019 to 29 February 2020, for the benefit of the community at large.”

Associate Prof. Dr. Siti Nursheena Mohd Zain, President of MSPTM commenting on the programme, “MSPTM has been actively involved in various aspects of parasitology and tropical medicine in Malaysia and in the region, since its formation in 1964. In line with the vision and mission of the society, the MSPTM is happy to promote this awareness programme, and foster active collaboration with primary and secondary schools and it is hoped this event will highlight ways and means for students, parents and teachers to promote knowledge on controlling Aedes mosquitoes and prevention of dengue to the public.”

“Recent statistics announced by the Ministry of Health (MoH) Malaysia, recorded a total of 116,942 cases (with 162 deaths) of dengue fever reported from January to 23th November 2019, in which Selangor and Kuala Lumpur recorded the highest number of cases across the country. This incident is worrying, and needs strategic planning for the control programmes. However, there are many among the general public who are unaware of basic info regarding dengue and its control. The MoH continues to strive to educate the public. I am grateful that UM and MSPTM have taken the initiative to assist MoH to create more awareness among our citizen, especially students, teachers and parents”, said Dr. Rose Nani Mudin, Head, Disease Control Division, Vector Borne Disease Sector, Ministry of Health.

During the event, a total of 36 students were awarded prizes, of which 13 students were from the category of primary school (Standard 4 – 6), 10 students from lower secondary school (Form 1 – 3) and 13 students from upper secondary school (Form 4 – 6). Artwork from Aliya Damia Azmi (11 years old, Standard 5) from SK Putrajaya Presint 5(1), Leong Tong Yan (13 years old, Form 1) from SMK Katholik, Selangor and Go Jing Jie (16 years old, Form 4) from SMK Kepong Ulu, Kuala Lumpur were awarded first prize for their respective categories. Meanwhile, SMK Kepong, Kuala Lumpur and SRJK(C) Sungai Way, Selangor were awarded as secondary and primary schools which had contributed the most number of excellent artwork in this programme, respectively.

Overall, this programme created a lot of interest among the school going children and teachers and we hope the awareness they harnessed will trickle down to their families, friends and neighbors as Dengue is a household menace that can affect anyone.

Note:

Dengue Awareness Drawing Exhibition 2019

(Open for public without entrance fees)

Venue: University of Malaya Art Gallery

Period: 30 Nov 2019 – 29 Feb 2020

Open for Visit: Monday – Friday 9:00am – 4:30pm (Close on weekend and public holiday)

A workshop titled “Wellcome Trust Grantsmanship: How to stand out in a crowd? Your essential guide to submit a successful grant proposal” was organized in conjunction with the 55^th Annual Scientific Conference of the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (MSPTM). This event was a collaborative effort between the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, The Ministry of Education Malaysia, Biodiversity and Ecology Network, Young Scientist Network and Institute of Biology Sciences with the support of the Wellcome Trust.

The workshop took place on 15^th March 2019 at the auditorium Rimba Ilmu, Universiti Malaya with the objectives to equip our scientists with the right skills in writing grant proposals to international grant bodies such as those provided by the Wellcome Trust.

The key speakers for the workshop were Dr. Michael Chew, the Science Portfolio Adviser of the Wellcome Trust, United Kingdom, Datin Paduka Prof. Dr. Teo Soo-Hwang, CEO, Cancer Research Malaysia and Prof. Dr. Balbir Singh, Director of the Malaria Research Centre, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The program covered the various Wellcome Trust grants, tips from a grant evaluator and recipient and finally the art of how to prepare a successful grant.

This workshop was well received with more than 50 participants registered, mainly conference attendees, academicians and postgraduate students from various local higher education and research institutions including international delegates from Indonesia and Brunei Darul Salam.

The event was graced by YBhg. Prof Dr Raha Abdul Rahim, the Director, Institution of Higher Education Excellence Planning Division, Ministry of Education and the Head of Department, Institute of Biological Sciences, Associate Prof Dr Nurhayati Zainal Abidin.