CHILPANCINGO, Mexico—Guerrero State Governor Evelyn Salgado Pineda and a host of regional health and emergency response leaders met with Direct Relief Friday to receive a large donation of medical equipment, supplies, and medicine to help the region address the lingering effects of last year’s devastating Hurricane Otis, a spike in dengue fever, and projections of an upcoming severe hurricane season.

The confluence of events over the past year has created significant health challenges and risks for the people of Acapulco and the surrounding Guerrero state. In October 2023, Guerrero was battered by Hurricane Otis, the strongest storm recorded to make landfall in the Eastern Pacific, leaving at least 52 people dead and 32 others missing. Guerrero has since seen a surge in cases of the mosquito-borne illness dengue fever, reporting more cases than any other Mexican state.

The past few months have been hot and dry, leaving firefighters struggling to get wildfires under control. Meanwhile, the 2024 hurricane season is fast approaching, officially beginning in June, and weather forecasters point to climate conditions and unusually high ocean temperatures to predict an exceptionally high number of hurricanes this year.

The donation is Direct Relief’s largest single action and disaster response in Mexico since the organization established a Mexican unit as a Civil Association in 2014.

Supplies for Fighting Dengue Fever’s Spread and Medical Consequences

Dengue fever is surging across South and Central America and the Caribbean, with reported cases up 206% over 2023, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

Direct Relief is providing equipment and supplies both to stem the spread of dengue and to ease the suffering of those who catch a disease so painful that it is also known as break-bone fever.

In response to a request from Guerrero’s Secretariat of Health, Direct Relief is donating thermal fogging equipment and insecticide to spray in identified hot spots for mosquito breeding. The aim is to reduce the mosquito population before summer rains bring the standing water where the insects breed.

Direct Relief is also donating 1.5 metric tons of medical supplies to help limit the spread of dengue and to reduce fever, dehydration, and pain among people who have contracted it. The supplies include mosquito-repellent wipes and spray, oral rehydration salts, acetaminophen for adults and children, and thermometers. There is no medicine for curing dengue, but palliative care can provide some relief from symptoms while the body fights off the infection.

The medical supplies are being donated to Guerrero’s Centro Regulador de Urgencias Médicas (CRUM), where they will join the strategic reserve for emergency and disaster response both in the State of Guerrero and for aid to other Mexican states. In the aftermath of Hurricane Otis, other states came to Guerrero’s aid with ambulances, paramedics, doctors, mobile medical units, and more.

Rebuilding Pharmaceutical Cold-Chain Damaged by Hurricane Otis, and Preparing for 2024 Hurricanes

Hurricane Otis wreaked significant damage at health centers in and around Acapulco. Direct Relief is delivering 10 pharmaceutical refrigerators to replace equipment destroyed by Hurricane Otis, along with two ultra-low-temperature freezers needed for certain medicines and vaccines.

Increasingly, new vaccines and medications for cancer, genetic diseases, diabetes, and other medical conditions require consistent cold temperatures from the point of manufacture until dispensed to a patient. Communities that lack the infrastructure, power, and systems required to handle such medications properly often go without these therapies. Direct Relief improves cold chain infrastructure in low-resource communities by providing cash grants, donations of refrigeration equipment and expertise.

Medicine and Medical Supplies

Direct Relief is also donating 156 fully stocked emergency medical backpacks to equip Guerrero’s fire and emergency services teams, which are currently tackling wildfires but now must prepare for hurricane response. Each backpack contains supplies and equipment to meet disaster-related health needs, including infection control, diagnostics, trauma care, and PPE.