On Friday, September 2, 2016, U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, Peter Mulrean, and the Director General of the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), Dr. Gabriel Timothé, visited the USAID-supported Martissant Community Clinic to participate in the distribution of Zika prevention kits to pregnant women in their first trimester.

Responding to a request by the Ministry of Public Health, the Security Cooperation Office (SCO) of the SOUTHCOM’s Humanitarian Assistance Program, purchased over 700 Zika Prevention Kits, consisting of insect repellant, citronella candles and condoms for distribution to pregnant women. This visit to Martissant demonstrates the ongoing American commitment to supporting the Haitian Government in providing health care to the Haitian people, particularly in preventing the transmission of the Zika virus.

During this distribution, Ambassador Mulrean highlighted the necessity to reinforce community programs to prevent the spread of Zika in Haiti’s vulnerable areas: “The United States actively supports the Haitian Ministry of Health’s Action Plan against Zika. This plan focuses on the prevention, detection and the response to the disease. Today, as part of prevention, we distributed the anti-Zika kits to pregnant women in their first trimester. We are focusing our efforts on pregnant women, as they are the most vulnerable.”

The Martissant Community Clinic is one of USAID’s 164 integrated healthcare service delivery sites in Haiti, serving a community 250,000 people. Every month, the clinic provides prenatal services to over 450 pregnant women.