78 marieclaire.com.auTHE ZIKA ADVOCATE
ANA CAROLINA CÁCERESAna Carolina Cáceres is a blogger, university
graduate and is working on a book. But the
24-year-old from the central Brazilian city of
Campo Grande was also born with
microcephaly and as her country grapples with
the social and economic aftershocks of the
epidemic, she has become the face of hope
“for families raising Zika babies”. Cáceres has
become an advocate for these
children, fighting to give them a
voice and access to adequate
treatment. Integral to her message
is to let people know a diagnosis
is not a death sentence.
“There are still a lot of myths
about it. Every case is different.
Microcephaly has various levels
and each level has its own
treatment. It has fallen to
me to be a spokesperson.
So let’s go, let’s do it.”
When Cáceres was born, her family was
told that if she survived, she would never walk
or talk. “[That doctor] – like many others – was
wrong,” she has said. “I grew up, went to
school, went to university. Today, I am a
journalist and I write a blog.”
Even before the current crisis, Cáceres
had been working to deepen public
understanding of the disease, publishing a
book called Selfie about her experience and
that of five others with microcephaly. Then, latelast year, as Zika spread, wreaking havoc
throughout Brazil, Cáceres decided to tell her
story again. Encouraged by a university
professor, she began to write a gonzo-style
piece of journalism about living with the
condition. As the country fought to understand
this baffling new condition, she was thrust
into the spotlight, and by her count has given
more than 70 media interviews.
“I think my story matters because of
the hope it can bring expectant parents, no
matter what problems their child
may have,” she has said.
“Many of these children
[with Zika] come from humble
families who can’t afford
to have treatment.
“The government will have
to invest more in this area of
health. Possible and impossible
are just words. Determination
is what changes things.”Left: Brazilian journalist
Ana Carolina Cáceres,
who was born with
microcephaly, has been
at the forefront of the
fight to give victims
of the syndrome a
voice and access to
high-quality medical
treatment. Above: when
Cáceres was a child,
doctors told her
parents that she would
never walk or talk.THE
ABORTION
CAMPAIGNER
DEBORA DINIZThe Zika crisis has thrown the
issue of abortion in Brazil into
stark focus. In the predominately
Catholic country, it is illegal to
terminate a pregnancy in nearly
all circumstances, leaving
pregnant women who have
contracted the disease with few
choices. Leading the charge to
give these women the right to
choose is Debora Diniz, a
professor of law at the University
of Brasília, who is taking the
fight to legalise abortion to the
country’s supreme court.
Diniz is the author of the
upcoming book Zika and is also
an award-winning documentary
maker whose most recent
project, also called Zika,
tells the story of five women
beset by the epidemic.
Diniz’s crusade is driven
by the psychological effect Zika
is having on mums-to-be.
“The epidemic, and all the
uncertainty it brings, is leaving
women feeling abandoned,”
she explans. “They experience
intense suffering, it’s a sort of
psychological torture.
Pregnancy has become a
moment of sadness, especially
for the women in Zika territory.”
Her campaign to legalise
abortion has struck a chord.
“Ever since we announced
our plans, I have been receiving
calls from women from all over
the country; some have seen
their childbearing dreams turned
into nightmares,” Diniz has said.
“Others worry about how they
will get healthcare for their
children. Many wonder how
many more will have to suffer or
die before abortion is a right.”
Now, their legal fight is “in
the final straight”, says Diniz.
At the time of going to press the
case was due to go before
the Brazilian Supreme Court.“There are
still a lot
of mythsabout
microcephaly.
Every case
is different”Cáceres graduated
from university, wrote
a book about her life,
plays the violin and
maintains a blog, which
helps other families
with microcephalics.World report