MEDIA WATCH: Zika alert as Panama sleeps

hoyporhoy

THE SPREAD  of diseases  by vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks was part of predictive models of the effects of climate change, which the world ignored for over 20 years.

The Zika virus has become a pervasive  threat mercilessly punishing pregnant women in the poorest and most vulnerable communities, with the terrible risk of giving birth to babies with microcephaly, condemning them to a life of extreme suffering.

The World Health Organization has warned of the imminent spread of the virus throughout most of the continent. In Colombia, of the 20 000 cases, approximately 2000 women are pregnant; in El Salvador the Government has asked women to postpone pregnancy for two years; while in Brazil various civil society organizations are calling on legislators to legalize abortion in cases of Zika.

In Panama, the Ministry of Health has not yet provided the Historic National Service for the Eradication of Malaria with the necessary resources and both rulers and deputies of recent decades have prevented Panamanian citizens from having  access to responsible family planning methods.

Are we expecting to lose the next generation by the negligence and carelessness of politicians? It is time that officials understood that their first priority must be public health. It is the duty of all citizens to remind them  and demand  immediate action.