September 11th, 2016  |  08:21 AM  |

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

In light of the recent Zika virus outbreak in neighbouring countries, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) held a cleaning campaign aimed at eradicating mosquito breeding sources yesterday.

The cleaning campaign was part of the Campus Health and Safety Campaign to raise awareness among the UBD community on the importance of a safe and healthy learning and working environment.

Present to oversee as well as take part in the cleaning campaign was Datin Dr Hajah Anita Binurul Zahrina binti Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abdul Aziz, the Vice-Chancellor of UBD.

The event began with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah, followed by Welcoming remarks by the Associate Professor Dr Mohammad Ayub Sadiq @ Lin Naing, Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs) at UBD.

In his speech, he said, "UBD has been a campus as not just for learning, but also a conducive environment for a healthy lifestyle. We would like to make it a place to learn and practice holistic aspects of life. We advocate a healthy mindset, healthy culture, healthy environment and healthy practice.

"Since February this year, (there have been) weekly fitness activities on Wednesday such as jogging, cycling, high-intensity training, yoga, martial arts, to promote health for the body and mind. This also gives us grounds to socialise among staff, students from all faculties, to network and collaborate, to promote harmony and friendship in the UBD community.

"While we are advocating a healthy campus, in the light of global alarm over the Zika virus, UBD is taking steps to identify potential mosquito breeding areas to be eradicated and this weekly initiative must involve all staff and students. Regarding this,the Office of Safety, Health and Environment (OSHE) will lead these regular activities."

A briefing on Zika virus prevention was carried out by Dr Suwarni binti Haji Mohd Diah, Deputy Dean (Administration, Finance and Undergraduate) at the PAPRSB Institute of Health Science, UBD. Lim Kok Shien, Acting Head of Safety, Health and Environment at UBD then carried out a briefing on the scope of the activity.

The cleaning campaign then commenced, involving UBD staff and students divided into various zones where they were led by their respective dean/director/ head or assistant registrar.

For 30 minutes, the students and staff were required to collect rubbish such as plastic bottles, cups, aluminium cans, as well as other containers that could be potential mosquito breeding grounds.

The OSHE also carried out fogging around the campus two weeks ago to ensure a cleaner, healthier and risk-free environment for all.

UBD is also working together with Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) on a Campus Safety and Health Campaign which was launched yesterday.

The aim of this campaign is to unite and work together towards a cleaner and greener campus.

Source:
by BruDirect.com