PIROI deployed a regional disaster response agent to assist the Red Cross Society of the Seychelles in fighting the outbreak of dengue fever. The epidemic first broke out in early 2016, and by the end of June had already affected 253 people nationwide.
PIROI deployed a regional disaster response agent to assist the Red Cross Society of the Seychelles in fighting the outbreak of dengue fever. The epidemic first broke out in early 2016, and by the end of June had already affected 253 people nationwide.
The epidemic caused the highest number of casualties on the main island of Mahé, with a total of 253 cases of dengue fever, compared to just 1 on the island of Praslin.
Faced with this epidemic, PIROI, together with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, provided support to the Red Cross Society of the Seychelles (a member of the PIROI network), deploying an RDRT agent (Regional Disaster Response Team) for a period of 2 weeks.
Brian Kurtkowiak-Dafreville, a vector control specialist, was made available to the Red Cross by his employer, the Indian Ocean Regional Health Agency (ARS), as part of a partnership agreement between the ARS and PIROI.
As part of his mission, which began on June 23rd, the PIROI agent provided expertise and support to the Red Cross Society of the Seychelles, carrying out vector control training sessions for employees and volunteers, as well as working on first response team coordination. He also participated in national response coordination activities with other government stakeholders working in the field.