Health in the Americas
www.ifrc.org Saving lives, changing minds.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
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Red Cross Field Hospital in Pedernales provides support to the Pedernales Health Center, affected by the earthquake. Vladimir Rodas / Ecuadorian Red Cross Cover photo: Haitian Red Cross nurse Fabiola Mathurin performs a malaria test on a patient. Marko Kokic / Canadian Red CrossÂ
Health
Members of the Salvadoran Red Cross explain to the public the correct use of the condom, as part of the Global Alliance on HIV project. Salvadoran Red Cross
in the Americas Health is an important component of sustainable development. Healthy communities contribute to the economy, while diseases and disabilities generate financial hardship and distress that push fragile households back into poverty. Health is influenced by social circumstances and behaviours; therefore, health is a fundamental building block for strong and resilient communities.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) works with National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to reduce health risks, respond to health emergencies and protracted crises, and support community recovery and empowerment
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
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Regional context
What we do
Most countries in the Americas have experienced a substantial increase in life expectancy in recent decades thanks to the gradual decline of mortality rates due to communicable diseases. Nonetheless today, most of the countries are reporting an increase in morbidity and premature mortality due to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD’s), violence and road accidents.
Red Cross health programming in the Americas aims to prevent and respond to prevalent and re-emerging diseases. These actions are inherent to the Red Cross role as auxiliary to the State.
The Americas face a triple burden of disease: Non-communicable diseases (NCD’s). There are 4.5 million deaths in the Americas each year, 35 per cent of which occur in persons under the age of 70, this puts great pressure on health services and economies Communicable Diseases (CD). There is still a significant morbidity rate among children under five years. New vector borne diseases have emerged over the past five years, such as chikungunya and zika, while dengue fever, malaria and yellow fever are part of the unfinished health agenda in most of the countries The Caribbean continues to be the second most HIVaffected region in the world. High incidence of tuberculosis is reported in Haiti, Peru, Bolivia and Guyana, and Chagas and leprosy are present especially in the South of the continent. Maternal, new born, child and youth health programs are targeting areas of higher vulnerability in different countries in the region. Other Health-related Risk Factors. There is a growing burden of disease and injury from external causes such as traffic accidents, violence, disasters and crises. Traffic accidents have become one of the leading causes of death in children aged 5 to 14. Globally, eight out of the ten countries with the highest number of homicides are in the Americas region.
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Health in The Americas
IFRC assists National Societies in building and strengthening their capacities to promote healthy life habits, prevent contagious diseases and respond appropriately to consequences and effects of public health emergencies, to assist communities to live healthy lives, reduce risks and vulnerabilities and increase their resilience. Along with National Societies and other partners, IFRC carries out programmes, projects and activities at regional and national levels that seek to reduce the incidence of illness and premature deaths; to improve health status of individuals through community mobilization and empowerment with a focus on the most vulnerable groups. Health programmes are gender sensitive, promoting equity and non-discrimination, and considering other determinants of health, such as migration, climate change, urbanisation and violence. Red Cross strategies and tools, such as Community Based Health and First Aid, Epidemic Control for Volunteers and Psychosocial Support, among others, are adapted to the capacities of each National Society and to the context of each country. Inter-institutional coordination at the regional and national levels, advocacy with health ministries and national institutions that are working on health or related issues, build and maintain networks and effective collaboration are other key elements of the IFRC interventions. All health actions are focused from the outset on strengthening capacities and contributing to build resilience in individuals, families and communities.
Impact data Since 2009, the regional Health department has supported emergency preparedness and emergency operations in the region. In 2009 and 2010, preparedness for pandemic influenza and response to the H1N1 virus, in 2010 the Haiti and Chile earthquakes, followed by outbreaks of dengue fever in South America in 2013. Then in 2014 and 2015, a new operation was initiated in Haiti and the Dominican Republic during the outbreaks of cholera, and a preparedness plan was defined for the threat of Ebola. From 2014 to 2016, the health unit intervened in several operations for the drought in Central America (El NiĂąo). From 2015 to 2016 the operation concentrated efforts on the health of migrants (in Central America) and since 2016, the health unit has initiated a major response for the zika pandemic. Through the IFRC Global Alliance on HIV in the Americas over a four-year period from 2009 to 2012, a total of 7.21 million people benefited from HIV services provided by 12 National Red Cross Societies. Services included: HIV prevention and social mobilization including: harm reduction, condom promotion, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), Care, treatment and support services for People living with HIV; and anti-stigma and discrimination work. In 2016, the IFRC initiated a major response for the zika pandemic, reaching over 266,000 people with direct services and more than 6.5 million people with prevention and anti-stigma messages. The zika operation has since transitioned into longer-term projects in 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to prevent zika and associated complications.
A total of 7.21 million people benefited from HIV services provided by 12 National Red Cross Societies Actions in communities as part of the response to the Zika virus in El Salvador. Salvadoran Red Cross.
Learn more at:
www.cruzroja-zika.org
Promotion of Maternal and Child Health program in Guatemala. Source: Guatemalan Red Cross
Health promotion in the community Beneficiary story The San Pablo community in San Marcos, Guatemala is peaceful and close-knit, dedicated to subsistence farming. Gregoria NicolĂĄs Molina and her husband have five children and have lived in the community their entire lives. After delivering her youngest child, Gregoria was unable to breastfeed because she got sick. Her baby was undernourished, weak and prone to illness. The local Red Cross Health Committee helped Gregoria learn how to make nutrient-rich foods for the baby and herself, improve the hygiene in food preparation and sanitation for her family, and just a few months later both mom and baby were healthier and well-nourished.
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Health in The Americas
Gregoria’s family is one of the many that participated in the Red Cross training programme, part of the Community Health Project. They learned about pregnancy and child care, communicable and chronic diseases and thanks to recommendations from community health workers, the overall health in the community improved. The project has since finished, but the knowledge and skills that the community learned, their engagement and motivation, will ensure that families here continue to improve their health through the acquired habits.
Volunteer story Commitment to her community Jennifer spent most of her pregnancy working as a Colombian Red Cross (CRC) volunteer in the communities of her home district in Valledupar. Her remarkable work consisted of disseminating zika protection messages to pregnant women and providing psychosocial support to mothers whose babies were affected by microcephaly, one of the main complications of zika virus congenital transmission. Jennifer has since given birth to a healthy baby girl named Lucia, and is still wondering how she found the courage to expose herself day after day to something as unpredictable as a bite from an infected Aedes mosquito. She followed self-protection measures, which likely reduced the possibility of getting the virus: using repellent, wearing pants and long-sleeve shirts and sleeping under a mosquito net. She still remembers how she felt when working with a local mother who had lost her baby. “At the time, I was bringing key messages to pregnant women on how important it is to prevent zika virus infection”, she says. “I am proud of myself for having had the strength to keep working on preventing this disease that has caused so many complications in babies”, she says in a voice choked with emotion. The Red Cross throughout the region has provided psychosocial support and zika virus awareness information to pregnant women and women of childbearing age thanks to people like Jennifer, who volunteer to help other women. The International Federation and its Red Cross National Societies have provided key messages and customized information on vector control, prevention activities and community initiatives on zika, as well as community awareness and stigma reduction campaigns.
Zika prevention education to pregnant women, with Jennifer Lopez Diaz. Colombian Red Cross
Contact information:
Maria Tallarico Head, Health and Care maria.tallarico@ifrc.org Julie Hoare Head, Partnerships and Resource Development julie.hoare@ifrc.org
Š International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. 2017