Community participation is vital to prevent and control the spread of diseases transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Community participation has been defined “as a process whereby individuals, families and communities are involved in the planning and conduct of local vector control activities so as to ensure that the programme meets the local needs and priorities of the people who live in the community. It also fosters and promotes community self-reliance. As it relates to Aedes aegypti control, community participation can be defined as citizens in a particular geographical location taking individualistic as well as organized action to reduce the breeding of the mosquito in their environment.
Why is community participation essential in the control of Aedes aegypti? Let us look at the behavior of the mosquito.
The Aedes aegypti lives in very close proximity to human settlements, breeding primarily in artificial as well as natural receptacles which collect water. The mosquito’s life-cycle is closely associated with human activities. The Aedes aegypti larvae can be found in containers such as drums, buckets, water vase, flower pots, air conditioner trays, old tins and cans, old shoes, old things thrown about, plants with axils such as bromeliad plants, old pet containers, tyres, tree holes, block holes; anything that is able to containerize water close to where human dwell will lend itself to the breeding of this mosquito.
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