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

1. HOW JAMAICA IS ADDRESSINGTHE HEALTH &
ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS OFTHE ZIKAVIRUS
A risk mitigation strategy driven by individuals, community, private entities and the Government

2. Background
• Beginning in 2015, Jamaica sought to
prevent and contain the spread of the
ZikaVirus 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

3. History of ChikV 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

4. ChikV song
–byWayne J from Jamaica
• Click on the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chd8VfScmJA&feature=player_embedded

5. Risks to new life • Campaign advisingWomen to Delay
Pregnancy in Light of ZikaVirus Links
to Birth Defects
• Columbia
• Ecuador
• El Salvador
• Jamaica

6. • Surveillance
• Public Education
• Clinical Management
• Vector Control i.e. fogging, clean-up of gullies, garbage collection etc.
• Laboratory Strengthening
• Training
• Social Mobilization
• Intersectoral Collaboration
• InternationalCorporation
• Resource Mobilization
Risk mitigation strategies - by the Government

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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. Presentation by: Renee Chin Johnson, EMBA
ForTheWorld Bank Group MOOC Course:
‘Risk and Opportunity: Managing Risks for Development’
February 2016
Contact : rlchinjohnson@gmail.com