Preventing and reducing the impacts of natural disasters and health risks in the Guiana Shield

Following the Zika virus epidemic that affected the Guiana Shield in 2015-2016, PIRAC launched the REMPART vector control project in February 2018. The goal is to increase prevention efforts and reduce the risks of epidemics in community settings, while also increasing the local response capacity in the event of health crisis to limit the impacts on local communities. In response to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and dengue fever epidemic in 2020, the French Red Cross decided to expand this project to include risks of multiple epidemics, in addition to vector-borne diseases.

The initial REMPART project was extended and expanded to include educational actions in schools and to promote the development of epidemic prevention and protection behaviors from an early age. 

The regional cooperation dimension is central to this project, through the sharing of experience and expertise, and networks of regional stakeholders aimed at leading effective and coordinated action to reduce the risks of the spread of diseases with epidemic potential in the Guiana Shield. The project also seeks to increase regional epidemic response capacities by enabling French Red Cross services in countries in the region to increase their skills and improve the coordination of actions aimed at preventing the risk of the cross-border spread of epidemics.

The REMPART project is sustainably increasing independent epidemic response capacities at national, sub-regional and local levels, and in schools.