HOW JAMAICA IS ADDRESSING THE HEALTH & ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS OF THE ZIKA VIRUS

A risk mitigation strategy driven by individuals, community, private entities and the Government

Background• Beginning in 2015, Jamaica sought to

prevent and contain the spread of the Zika Virus in Jamaica.

• Based on the recent outbreak of the Chik V, the Government sought to lead the early response and warnings to prevent another health and environmental crisis for the country.

• Everyone is now actively involved – the Government, private sector entities, individuals, community organization including schools, churches and political leaders and individuals in their own homes.

****** 1 case found in Jamaica

History of Chik V in Jamaica…a little too late?

• Newspaper article Excerpt, “The cost of chikungunya to Jamaica”

• “The chikungunya virus, also called CHIKV, is now ravaging the island of Jamaica, shutting down court cases, crippling productivity and, in some regretful instances, taking lives from complications associated with the virus….

• …The Minister of Health then reluctantly had to admit, after the evidence was overwhelming with Jamaicans down with CHIKV, in an address to the nation that the country was dealing with an epidemic of CHIKV. Worse yet, the minister of health reported that his ministry had been preparing for the onslaught of the chikungunya virus some two years before it reached Jamaica. The effects of an epidemic on the economic health of a nation are catastrophic and the CHIKV epidemic is no different. With the prediction that some 60 per cent of Jamaicans will be affected by CHIKV, that is one million six hundred thousand Jamaicans, and with a downtime of five to 10 days, we are estimating a loss to the Jamaican economy of at least $30 million using a daily wage of $2,000.00 per day. This is a very conservative estimate and is certainly not the type of loss to the island's income that Jamaica can afford in the throes of an IMF economic straightjacket.

• A responsible and proactive Ministry of Health would have put out bulletins months before on how to prepare and avoid the CHIKV. The rest of the Cabinet, had they likewise been responsible and proactive, would have ensured the country was kept clean and breeding grounds for the Aedes Aegypti mosquito eradicated before the epidemic has run rampant; not while it is running rampant as is currently the case.

• The National Solid Waste Management Authority had to confess in the middle of the CHIKV epidemic that they were well short of resources in collecting garbage and in general cleaning the country, and so the health of the Jamaican people has simply been left to divine providence…..

• A doctor at the University Hospital of the West Indies …..said that the biggest failure on the part of the Ministry of Health was not communicating with the people and health officials on the extent of the chikungunya crisis and how to deal with it.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/The-cost-of-chikungunya-to-Jamaica_17772229

Chik V song –by Wayne J from Jamaica• Click on the link below:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chd8VfScmJA&feature=player_embedded

Risks to new life • Campaign advising Women to Delay Pregnancy in Light of Zika Virus Links to Birth Defects

• Columbia• Ecuador• El Salvador• Jamaica

• Surveillance• Public Education• Clinical Management• Vector Control i.e. fogging, clean-up of gullies, garbage collection etc.• Laboratory Strengthening• Training• Social Mobilization• Intersectoral Collaboration• International Corporation• Resource Mobilization

Risk mitigation strategies - by the Government

Sample poster being circulated via traditional media and social media, within organizations and schools

Risk mitigation strategy - by the Private Sector• Sale of products – insect repellants, painkillers, etc.

• Assistance to schools and other institutions in clean-up efforts• Provision of testing facilities

Risk mitigation strategy - by the Community

• Clean-up of public spaces e.g. schools, community centers and gullies• Identifying, preventing or eliminating mosquito breeding sites• Reporting mosquito breeding sites that will require assistance from relevant

authorities

Risk mitigation strategy - by the Individual• Screening of windows and doors• Use of insect repellants• Reduction or elimination of

mosquito breeding sites• Wearing light colored clothes or

clothes that cover much of the body• Paying special attention to those

who may not be able to protect themselves – children, the sick and the elderly

• Infected persons should limit exposure to mosquito bites

Conclusion: What Jamaica has learnt•  Using best practices for risk mitigation• Being proactive in addressing a health & environmental matter• Leveraging technology and social media• Partnering with the private sector• Building health and social protection systems that protect the most

vulnerable• Empower communities to manage risks• Provision of infrastructure and service that complement

communities’ capacities

References• http://moh.gov.jm/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/ZIKA-FAQs.pdf• http://

ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/zika_virus_infection/factsheet-health-professionals/Pages/factsheet_health_professionals.aspx

Presentation by: Renee Chin Johnson, EMBA

For The World Bank Group MOOC Course: ‘Risk and Opportunity: Managing Risks for Development’

February 2016Contact : rlchinjohnson@gmail.com