How is Canada contributing to the global fight against Zika?
Backgrounder
Canada is contributing almost $5 million to the global fight against the Zika virus epidemic. This contribution includes an investment in health research, funding to strengthen the public health response in Latin America and the Caribbean and humanitarian funding.
Building capacity in health research
The Canada-Latin America and Caribbean Zika Virus Research Program is a $3 million investment jointly funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the International Development Research Centre. This investment will fund as many as three collaborative teams of researchers for as long as three years. Teams will comprise researchers from Canada and the Latin American and Caribbean region.
The investment will fund research in the following areas:
- Understanding the biological link between Zika virus infection and severe complications such as microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
- Developing improved tests to diagnose infection with the Zika virus.
- Better understanding how Zika virus is transmitted, e.g., which species of mosquito transmit the virus, the likelihood of being infected by a person who has the virus but does not show symptoms, and which approaches are best for controlling the mosquitos that transmit the virus.
Strengthening the public health response in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is contributing $950,000 to the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the regional office for the Americas of the World Health Organization. This funding will be used to strengthen emergency preparedness and response activities in the hardest hit regions of the Americas.
In April 2016, PHAC sent a delegation to the Caribbean Public Health Agency to conduct a needs assessment to determine how Canada could best support the agency in its efforts to control and respond to the Zika virus in the region.
Humanitarian assistance
Global Affairs Canada will provide $1 million in funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies this year. This funding will support efforts to strengthen surveillance, promote communication with at-risk communities, increase efforts to control mosquito populations, provide care to people who are most at risk, such as women of child-bearing age and pregnant women, conduct research on the Zika virus and promote coordination across sectors.
The funding will be broken down as follows:
| World Health Organization | $350,000 |
|---|---|
| Pan-American Health Organization | $250,000 |
| UNICEF | $200,000 |
| International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies | $200,000 |
| Total | $1,000,000 |
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Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau Hon. Jane Philpott Canadian Institutes of Health Research Health and Safety