Impact evaluation of the humanitarian intervention of the Red Cross to reduce cases of dengue fever in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in 2013

A marked increase in dengue fever cases was seen in several Latin American countries during the 2013 rainy season. Given the increase in cases, health alerts were declared in five countries in the region: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. In these countries, as in Colombia, dengue is among the diseases which year after year have become a risk to health and lives, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Living conditions, such as access to health, poverty and malnutrition, also increase the people's vulnerability. In order to deal with this situation, National Red Cross Societies in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua have for three months been working in close collaboration with their respective Governments and Ministries of Health to meet the needs of affected and at risk communities. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) has provided support to conduct this operation through IFRC emergency funds (DREF), which were distributed, by country.