The virus is most prominent in South America and the Caribbean but could spread to the United States and Canada, according to WHO. In Port Au Prince, there have been at least five confirmed cases of the Zika virus, said Paula Prince, Hope for Haiti’s chief program officer.
Hope for Haiti has worked for the past 25 years to improve the quality of life for people in South Haiti. Prince said the organization has worked to combat the spread of other diseases via mosquitoes before.
“We have malaria and dengue, which also poses risk and a health concern,” Prince said. “So this just unfortunately adds another layer of mosquito-borne illness that is going to be a big threat to the population there.”
Zika virus poses the largest threat to pregnant women, who may deliver babies with deformities, said health officials. The risks of adverse symptoms are much slighter for most people, but Prince worries that Haitians will not be able to get the treatment they need if infected.
“In Haiti people really lack access to health care, to health education,” she said.
Now with cases of Zika on the rise, Prince said education is critical. Hope for Haiti will also provide items like mosquito nets and bug spray to people in Haiti.
“We’ll have these community health workers be able to provide essential materials in, often times, very rural communities where people don’t have access to TV and radio and other means of information. So that’s going to be our primary front,” Prince said.
Every year, Hope for Haiti’s public heath programs serve more than 12,000 people in 12 different communities in South Haiti, Prince said.
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