Brazil: Zika Epidemic Exposes Rights Problems

Brazil: Zika Epidemic Exposes Rights Problems

July 12, 2017
Government Announced Emergency Over, But Major Risks Remain

(São Paulo) – Brazil has not addressed longstanding human rights problems that allowed the Zika outbreak to escalate, leaving the population vulnerable to future outbreaks and other serious public health risks, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The government declared an end to the national public health emergency related to the Zika virus in May 2017, but the Zika threat in Brazil remains.

The 103-page report, “Neglected and Unprotected: The Impact of the Zika Outbreak on Women and Girls in Northeastern Brazil,” documents gaps in the Brazilian authorities’ response that have a harmful impact on women and girls and leave the general population vulnerable to continued outbreaks of serious mosquito-borne illnesses.

Continued at source: Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/07/12/brazil-zika-epidemic-exposes-rights-problems