Photo: Ana Beatriz, a baby girl with microcephaly. Finding a vaccine for#Zika may take years. In the meantime, the best way to advance towards a solution is to improve access to good water and sanitation services, a#humanright. Weak sanitation systems are strongly linked to the current Zika outbreak, as well as dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya, explains UN human rights expert Léo Heller. http://ow.ly/ZmczC
“Governments in the region must speed up the improvement of water and sanitation conditions, in particular for the most vulnerable populations, in order to save lives in the face of this unfolding global health crisis,” he said.
In Latin America it is the poorest and most marginalized who are suffering disproportionately from the additional burden of the Zika virus, potentially linked to both microcephaly, and Guillain-Barré Syndrome (a neurological condition), as well as other mosquito borne diseases. These ‘new’ diseases put an additional strain on women, who carry the burden of the fear of the diseases during their pregnancies and often care for the potentially sick children. Women and children are disproportionately affected by the current Zika virus outbreak and health systems need to be ready to respond to their specific health needs and rights by listening to their concerns, ensuring their autonomy, and involving them in the measures that affect them.
