Pan American Health Organization | Organización Panamericana de la Salud

Eliminating mosquito breeding sites, avoiding mosquito bites, and protecting pregnant women from Zika virus are the key messages of the inaugural Caribbean Mosquito Awareness Week, launched today by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the CARICOM Secretariat.

A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) reveals the status of national laws to protect and promote breastfeeding. Of the 194 countries analysed in the report, 135 have in place some form of legal measure related to the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes and subsequent, relevant resolutions adopted by the World Health Assembly (the Code).

The Zika virus epidemic has become notorious. It has made headlines in newspapers and television news programs around the world. Researchers on various continents are scrambling to discover more about it. And health authorities in the Americas are struggling to raise awareness of the potentially devastating impact of this new virus-- without causing undue alarm.