I REFER to a television advertisement which has been running during primetime hours.

Part of the campaign to prevent the breeding of the Aedes mosquito, the ad shows a guilt-stricken mother berating herself for allowing Aedes mosquitoes to breed in her home, which have infected her son with dengue fever. Her son is seen fighting for his life in hospital.

There is something wrong with the ad. Its underlying message is that amother is wholly responsible for the health of her children, and that anything which goes wrong with their health equates to her failure as her mother.

The father's responsibility and the possibility that the child could have been infected outside the home were not taken into account.

Most importantly, preventing Aedes mosquitoes from multiplying is the duty of every man and woman in Singapore, not just mothers.

Laying the blame on mothers does not help in fighting the spread of Aedes mosquitoes.

Education and prevention are the keys to stemming the spread of Aedes mosquitoes, not fear.

As construction sites and foreign workers' living quarters are other hotspots for the mosquito to breed, another ad could be made to target foreign workers.

Mosquitoes do not discriminate, therefore the approach taken by the National Environment Agency has to be broad to take into account foes old (dengue fever and malaria) and new (chikungunya).

Ms Goh Bee Hoon

For more my paper stories, click here.