Fighting Disease:  Dominican Republic

Catalyzing Disease Elimination in the Caribbean

In September 2008, The Carter Center, in partnership with the Dominican Republic and Haiti, launched a historic 18-month initiative to help the two countries and their other partners to accelerate the elimination of two mosquito-borne infections — malaria and lymphatic filariasis — from Hispaniola, the last reservoir of these devastating diseases in the Caribbean. As long as lymphatic filariasis and malaria exist on any part of these two nations' shared island, they will threaten the rest of the Caribbean with tragic human and economic consequences.

Read about the Hispaniola Initiative >

The initiative stems from a 2006 recommendation of the Carter Center's International Task Force for Disease Eradication (ITFDE) — a group of 12 global experts on infectious disease — that it is "technically feasible, medically desirable, and would be economically beneficial" to eliminate these two parasitic diseases from Hispaniola. (Read the updated ITFDE recommendation from 2008.) The binational project broke new ground in collaborations between these two countries for the betterment of public health on the entire island. (Read the 2008 Carter Center Press Release: Carter Center Launches Effort To Spur Elimination of Malaria and Lymphatic Filariasis in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.)

Malaria, a potentially fatal parasitic infection that causes fevers and flulike symptoms, is concentrated in 14 of 155 municipios (counties), which experienced 2,711 cases and 14 deaths from malaria (as reported in 2007). In the Dominican Republic, diagnosis and treatment of malaria are provided free of charge by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance. View flier "How To Use a Mosquito Net" (Spanish/PDF) >

Lymphatic filariasis is a debilitating disease that causes severe swelling in the limbs and genitals, which often devastates victims socially, emotionally, economically, and physically. The national program of the Dominican Republic has reached full treatment coverage for lymphatic filariasis and expects to eliminate disease transmission in 2010.

Achieving elimination would improve not only health but economic opportunity, including agriculture and tourism. For example, the Dominican Republic lost approximately US $200 million in tourism revenue due to an outbreak of malaria in 2004.

Through these efforts, the technical objectives of the binational project have been met: The countries have developed a standard protocol and procedures, including free diagnosis and treatment of malaria; primaquine has been added as a tool for treatment of malaria; and surveillance and use of microscopy to confirm diagnosis of malaria have been intensified.

With support from The Carter Center, the Dominican Republic and Haiti have prepared binational plans to complete elimination of both the diseases from the island.

Read the New York Times feature: "Haiti and Dominican Republic Urged tT Fight Mosquito Illnesses Together" >

Finally, in October 2009, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter led a Carter Center delegation to the Dominican Republic and Haiti to underscore — and stimulate international support for — the binational plan to complete elimination of both diseases from Hispaniola. The delegation also included former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, Carter Center President and CEO Dr. John Hardman, Vice President of Health Programs Dr. Donald Hopkins, and Malaria Control Program Director Dr. Frank Richards.

Read the Real Lives, Real Change feature: Siblings Work Together To Prevent Malaria in La Bomba, Dominican Republic >

Watch the video: Battling Mosquitoes and Malaria in La Bomba, Dominican Republic >

Learn more about the Carter Center's work to improve health in the Dominican Republic (in search result format) >