Quiz: How Well Do You Know Puerto Rico?

Home to around 3.2 million people, Puerto Rico is a U.S. island territory with a rich history — and numerous health challenges.

The island has the highest poverty and unemployment rates in the U.S., with four in 10 households living below the poverty line and now up to 40% of the population unemployed as a result of COVID-19.

Puerto Rico is also located in one of the most disaster-vulnerable regions of the world. The destruction wrought by Hurricane Maria in 2017 significantly compounded health threats for Puerto Ricans, and Project HOPE has been working to strengthen the island’s health system ever since.

So how well do you know Puerto Rico? Test your health knowledge with these true-or-false questions about the Caribbean island.

Take the Quiz

How did you do?

1. Puerto Rico has one of the highest numbers of coronavirus cases per capita in the U.S.

False.

Though the health system is ill-equipped and the risk of COVID-19 is still high, Puerto Rico has a lower case rate than over half of all states and territories, with about 1,100 cases per 100,000 people (compared to Louisiana, for instance, where there are over 3,000 cases per 100,000 people).

Project HOPE has delivered N95 masks, protective lab coats, and gloves to health workers on the front lines in Puerto Rico. We have also trained frontline health workers and supported the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Institute in implementing its first Project ECHO series on mental health and resiliency during disasters. The first series reached more than 1,200 first responders.

2. One in every 10 people in Puerto Rico has diabetes.

False.

Around one out of every six people in Puerto Rico has diabetes — approximately 16% of the adult population.

Diabetes and related conditions have been a problem in Puerto Rico for decades, but deaths from diabetes have increased by nearly a quarter over the last 10 years. It’s the third leading cause of death on the island, behind heart disease and cancer.

Understandably, access to insulin is one of the population’s greatest health concerns in the event of disaster. Some patients can only survive days without their medication. In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Project HOPE delivered over $2 million in medical supplies, including 1,500 vials of lifesaving insulin, to Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable patients. In partnership with the University of Puerto Rico, we also established a solar-powered, island-wide cold chain to ensure uninterrupted access to temperature-sensitive medicines and vaccines, even in the wake of disaster.

3. Over the past 20 years, Puerto Rico has been more affected by natural disasters than anywhere else in the world.

True.

Between 1998 and 2018, people living in Puerto Rico felt the effects of climate change more than any other place on earth — not because of the number of natural disasters, but because of the level of devastation of each event.

Project HOPE is working to build the resilience of Puerto Rico’s residents and strengthen the health system’s ability to weather future disasters. After a series of earthquakes struck the island in early 2020, we worked quickly to protect the island’s insulin supply and address the surge in medical need. We also sent hygiene kits to shelters to help maintain basic health and reduce the potential for the spread of disease.

4. Puerto Rico’s residents have received just half of the $20 billion in aid approved for Hurricane Maria relief.

False.

As of the end of 2019, the island’s residents had only seen $1.5 billion of the hurricane recovery money promised by the government.

It has been three years since Hurricane Maria made landfall, and tens of thousands of homes are still badly damaged, many families still living under blue tarps as they await aid.

Though the hold on the funds has been lifted, it is still unclear when aid will actually reach the island.

Recovery never happens overnight. It can take years for health systems to rebuild and communities to heal from disaster — especially without adequate support. Project HOPE has been on the ground in Puerto Rico since the first days after Hurricane Maria, and we’re still there supporting vulnerable communities and strengthening local health systems.

5. In just three years, over half of all health workers left the island seeking higher pay and better working conditions.

True.

Between 2015 and 2018, the island lost 60% of all general practitioners and 15% of all specialists — mostly for the mainland U.S.

The exodus has made access to care increasingly difficult for Puerto Ricans, who sometimes must wait up to six months to see specialty doctors. The shortage is especially concerning considering the territory’s population is older, with a median age of 45, and more likely to need health care.

The demand for health workers is higher than it is for any other type of professional. That’s why training health workers is at the heart of our mission at Project HOPE. We are currently training doctors and nurses in Puerto Rico to be able to respond to COVID-19, while ensuring they have the medicine, supplies, and infrastructure they need to provide care for their communities.

How you can help

Make a lifesaving gift to support our work now and for the future at projecthope.org/donate

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