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Cabo Verde

Cabo Verde - Dengue outbreak DREF Operational Update (MDRCV004)

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What happened, where and when?

On 6 November 2023, the health authorities in Cape Verde reported a case of dengue fever in the island of Santiago. As of 23 June 2024, some 1,205 cases were reported according to CDC Africa (562 confirmed and 643 suspected) in 9 out of 10 Cape Verde islands. The situation worsened at the beginning of July 2024 with the onset of the rains, with a significant peak in recent week. A sharp rise in the number of cases has been recorded since the beginning of July and continues until September due to the increase in rainfall and certain favorable conditions to the spread of the epidemic, despite the Government's efforts. According to the Situation Report (SITREP) for week 36, 18 September, there were around 6,238 cases, including 4,002 confirmed cases and 2 deaths on the islands Fogo and Santiago, with the epidemic affecting all the country's municipalities on all islands except Santo Antã.

By August 2024, the country had recorded more than 2,200 cumulative cases and two deaths. Following the spread of cases and a significant increase in the number of dengue cases in the country, the government initially decided to declare a civil protection alert on Santiago, Fogo and Brava, the islands with the highest incidence of dengue fever, before declaring the country to be in a nationwide emergency situation in October of the same year. The islands of Santiago, in particular the municipalities of Praia (14,051 suspected cases and 10,150 confirmed cases) and Fogo (3,837 suspected cases and 2,353 confirmed cases in São Filipe, 2,280 suspected cases and 884 confirmed cases in Mosteiros) are the worst affected. These two islands have also seen a number of deaths, including 6 on Santiago and 2 on Fogo.

On 18 September 2024, the National Crisis Council, coordinated by the Prime Minister himself, held the first crisis meeting on the deng response strategy. The Red Cross of Cape Verde opted to submit this DREF request following the activation of the National Crisis Council, which marks the activation of humanitarian and civil protection actors, including the National Society.

In response to this crisis, the Cape Verde Red Cross, a member of the national civil protection coordination, worked closely with government authorities and applied for emergency funding from the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). th this financial assistance, essential response actions have been carried out, including risk communication and community involvement initiatives, and community clean-ups in all the country's communes, without exception. 312 trained volunteers are carrying out a major awareness-raising, community mobilization and clean-up campaign. Despite this, combined with the efforts of the authorities, the number of cases continued to rise, as did the number of people who died. As of December 22, 2024, the country had a total of 26,873 suspected cases, of which 18,208 were confirmed, and 8 deaths.