Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

Participants: Paraguay, Bolivia, United States, Uruguay, Argentina

Technical and Scientific Report on the International Evaluation of the Chagas Disease Plan

During the week of 9-13 August 2010, a select group of international researchers and experts in the field of Chagas disease will be visiting Paraguay to evaluate the activities conducted by the National Vector Control Service (SENEPA), an office of the Ministry of Health, as part of its Program for Entomological Surveillance of Chagas disease in the Central Chaco. The evaluation will take place in the framework of CIDA-Canada Cooperation on Chagas, year 8 (2010), with support from the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO).

The Prevention and Control of Priority Communicable Diseases in South America, project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and executed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), has concentrated its efforts on entomological surveillance of Chagas disease in the Paraguayan Chaco in the indigenous communities of the departments of Boquerón and Presidente Hayes.

Recent years have witnessed an increase in the availability of information sources and resources. Websites have proliferated, along with databases and the generation of information at both nationally and internationally. The field of health and disasters has not been untouched by this development, and indeed has experienced exponential growth in the production of information.

At an official ceremony yesterday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare, health authorities and officials from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) delivered medical supplies and equipment with a total value of US$180,000 for the health regions of the Chaco. The items were donated by the CIDA-Canada project.

Mr. Roberto Lima, a member of the PAHO (Pan American Health Organization) team sent to the Chaco, reported today that the Organization continues to provide uninterrupted assistance to victims, working alongside staff of SEN (the National Emergency Secretariat), the Red Cross, voluntary firefighters, and Ministry of Health personnel. The assistance includes medical care to affected communities and assistance for people in temporary shelters, who are sleeping in tents and receiving food, water, and clothing, having lost most of their belongings.