The World Health Organization needs $ 122 million to coordinate the fight against the Zika virus and the prevention of complications in pregnant women.
60 countries are affected by Zika around the world. In almost five months, the virus has grown sprawling across the Americas. Complications related to the infection continue to emerge at an alarming rate. The World Health Organization (WHO) has therefore developed a new strategy in conjunction with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). She calls for more funding.
Speed up research
The sum advanced by Margaret Chan, Director General of the WHO, is not minimal: she estimated, on June 17, that $ 122 million was necessary to carry out the fight against the Zika virus. This new envelope comes in addition to the WHO’s first appeal, launched in February. Margaret Chan praised the growing commitment of financial partners: they were 23 in February 2016, and now 60 donors have joined the Organization.
In addition to eradicating mosquitoes that carry the disease, the health agency wants to better prevent and manage its complications and boost research. Because while great progress has been made in understanding the virus, its expansion mechanisms remain unclear. “Our response now requires a single, integrated strategy that puts women and girls of childbearing age at its heart,” Chan said.
Avoid endemic areas
Because it is the pregnancies that are the hardest hit by the current epidemic on the American continent. In Brazil alone, 1,400 cases of microcephaly have been reported. The United States has also recorded 3 births of this type and 3 miscarriages in women infected with Zika. In Martinique, the most affected French department, 2 microcephaly and 2 fetal brain malformations were detected. There are also many cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a serious neurological complication, and sexual transmission.
In order to reduce the risks, the WHO is asking pregnant women not to attend the Olympic Games in Rio (Brazil), which will be held from August 5 to 21. People returning from areas affected by the virus are advised to abstain from sex for 8 weeks or to use a condom. Men who show symptoms of an infection should follow this advice for 6 months.
.
