The Lancet Public Health published an article examining the initial results of the Zika Contraception Access Network (Z-CAN), one of the strategies established to prevent Zika-related birth defects in Puerto Rico.

As Zika virus continues its rapid spread throughout Puerto Rico and with mosquito season underway, the CDC Foundation announced today that the Zika Contraception Access Network (Z-CAN) is now operational. The Network is providing women in Puerto Rico with a full range of contraceptive options free of charge on the same day of their healthcare service. 

A new communications campaign aimed at empowering pregnant women on how to prevent Zika virus transmission has launched in Puerto Rico. The campaign, part of an effort with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the CDC Foundation, the Puerto Rico Department of Health and other partners announced in May, also focuses on empowering the social networks surrounding pregnant women—including partners, families, neighbors and community members—to take action to #StopZika in their homes and communities. 

The CDC Foundation announced a collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and multiple organizations, including Allergan, Medicines360, Upstream USA and Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, to provide a range of contraceptive options to women in Puerto Rico.

In response to the growing Zika virus health threat, Bayer today committed to supporting two critical aspects of the Zika response in Puerto Rico: providing women and their partners who want to delay or avoid pregnancy during the Zika outbreak with improved access to a range of contraceptive methods and giving additional protection to families who want to sleep under mosquito-repelling bed nets. 

Educating communities and empowering women on how to prevent Zika virus transmission is the focus of a new collaborative effort by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the CDC Foundation, aimed mainly at pregnant women in U.S. territories and the Americas.