Young volunteers fight climate-driven disease outbreaks through community cleanups in bangladesh

In the crowded neighborhoods of Dhaka, Bangladesh, thousands of young volunteers are taking public health into their own hands by targeting the root cause of surging mosquito-borne diseases. As climate change creates ideal breeding conditions for disease-carrying mosquitoes, grassroots organization Bangladesh Clean has mobilized over 50,000 volunteers—mostly teenagers and university students—to clean up the waste-filled waterways and neighborhoods where these insects thrive.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. Bangladesh experienced its worst dengue outbreak on record in 2023, with over 321,000 cases and 1,700 deaths. Rising temperatures—nearly 3.6°F warmer in some months since 1901—combined with irregular rainfall patterns have extended mosquito breeding seasons. The insects flourish in the organic waste that clogs Dhaka’s inadequate sanitation systems, where more than half of daily trash goes uncollected despite the city housing 36 million residents.

Every Friday, Bangladesh Clean volunteers wade into contaminated lakes and canals, collecting everything from plastic containers to banana peels that create mosquito breeding grounds. “All of us young volunteers are working hard to clean up and represent our country to the world,” says university student Umme Kulsum Siddiki Brishti. The organization has conducted approximately 15,000 cleanup events since 2016, addressing a crisis that kills over 272,000 Bangladeshis annually from pollution-related causes.

While hospitals overflow with dengue and chikungunya patients—forcing families to pay out-of-pocket for treatment in a country where one-third earn less than $5 daily—these volunteers represent hope. Their efforts demonstrate how community action can combat climate-driven health threats when government services fall short of rapidly growing urban populations.