ADRA volunteers help prevent mosquito-born disease in the Dominican Republic

ADRA volunteers in the Dominican Republic hang up a poster in a community in the southeast Santo Domingo, as part of a six-month prevention awareness campaign on the spread of mosquito-born disease this year in coordination with the country’s Ministry of Public Health. Images by ADRA Dominican Republic

September 15, 2016 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | IAD Staff

ADRA volunteer treats a rain water container with chlorine outside a home.

As the mosquito-bourn outbreaks continue to escalate in the Dominican Republic, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) volunteers on the island completed a six-month intervention program of visiting thousands of homes to educate the public on preventative measures against potentially fatal diseases caused by the Dengue fever, Chikungunya and Zika viruses.

Some 1,250 trained ADRA volunteers visited more than 4,000 homes in the southeastern part of Santo Domingo from March to September. They distributed educational materials, chlorine kits, and removed mosquito-breeding sites in homes.

A preliminary national study shows that there have been 3,771 confirmed cases of persons infected with the Zika virus this year, but officials fear figures could be three times higher due to non-reported cases.

ADRA Dominican Republic Director Luis Miguel Acevedo said that the Sep. 3 initiative was part of on-going interventions across the island that ADRA coordinates with the National Ministry of Public Health every year.

“Every year, ADRA trains and deploys church-member volunteers in different communities to reduce contagious risks to combat tropical diseases which are common during the summer,” said Acevedo.

A group of ADRA church member volunteers from the Southeast Dominican Conference pose for a picture before heading out into communities to educate on eliminating mosquito breeding sites.

Trained volunteers, which were mostly made up of young people from churches in the southeast and central regions in Santo Domingo, removed more than 50,000 breeding sites in the more than 12 communities, said Acevedo. It was by far the largest intervention done in six months, he added.

“Our plan is to continue working with the Ministry of Public Health for prevention interventions in communities across the island and work with a program that can assist those affected by the Zika virus this year,” Acevedo added.

To learn more about ADRA Dominican Republic and its current projects, visit ADRA DR