Funded ProjectsCombating the Spread of Zika

Chris was fortunate to have traveled the world, and he wanted to support others in crisis. With this in mind, The Chris Mikesell Foundation donated $3,000 to assist in humanitarian aid efforts relative to the Zika Virus Crisis.

About the Zika Virus Crisis

Danilo, from Pernambuco, Brazil, is being hugged by his brother. Danilo, who has microcephaly, visits the hospital twice a week. His mother, Ana Paula, says “With all this family love, it is easier to take care of him.”
Photo: Ueslei Marcelino/UNICEF

Affecting at least 75 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, the Zika virus outbreak continues to threaten the well-being of women and children while causing congenital and neurological conditions in newborns, according to UNICEF. More than 2,250 cases of microcephaly have already been reported in 28 countries and additional countries are expected to report cases of microcephaly and other congenital malformations in 2017. The Zika outbreak has the potential to spread in all areas where the Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are found and will disproportionately affect poor, marginalized and urban populations. While the full spectrum of neurological disorders and congenital complications attributable to the Zika virus is yet to be fully understood, UNICEF anticipates that it will have a long-lasting and multi-dimensional impact on children and their families socially, economically and psychologically.

In the Foundation’s history, more than $33,000 has been donated to humanitarian efforts led by UNICEF.