October 26, 2021
The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in a joint report with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) says that severe disruption in the healthcare services has happened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, urges for “mass accelerated vaccination” and “technological progress” to be made in order to control the crisis.
The ECLAC/PAHO duo in their COVID-19 report, said: “The protracted coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) has claimed nearly 1.5m lives in Latin America and the Caribbean and has generated more than 44 million confirmed cases since its emergence in the region in February 2020. The region accounts for nearly 20 percent of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and about 30 percent of deaths worldwide, despite having only 8.4 percent of the world’s population. The conditions of vulnerability that characterize the Latin America and the Caribbean region have made it particularly susceptible to the effects of the pandemic. This unprecedented crisis has highlighted the central importance of the health and well-being of individuals and communities for economic performance and social development. This report showcases how the historical weaknesses of health systems, and the structural inequalities that characterize the region, have made it difficult to control the pandemic.”
The report also acknowledged, “In 2020, the health crisis sparked the most serious economic contraction of the past 120 years in Latin America and the Caribbean, which also saw the worst economic performance of all the developing regions. Even before the pandemic hit, the region was already troubled by sluggish growth and, although the economy is expected to expand by 5.9 percent for 2021, this will not be enough for it to regain the GDP levels of 2019.”
Vaccination hesitancy around the region is being blamed for the prolonging of the pandemic, despite vaccines now providing to be less effective than originally thought. This has caused a severe strain on healthcare systems as systems are overcrowded with COVID-19 patients leaving other patients with other ailments without adequate care.
The long term effects of this is telling for a region that is still being plagued with non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and a host of other illnesses that are manageable if treated effectively and on time.
Poverty and inequality has deepened, “The particularly adverse impacts that the crisis has had on lower-income groups in the Latin American and Caribbean population reflect the social inequality matrix of the region, which is built around such structural factors as socioeconomic stratum or social class, gender, stage in the life cycle, ethnicity or race, and geographic circumstances, along with other aspects such as disability or migration status. These inequalities accumulate, deepen and interact, giving rise to multiple forms of discrimination that lead to differences in people’s ability to exercise their rights.”
The report added, “In addition to giving rise to an alarming public health situation in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, the pandemic has also revealed the weaknesses of the economic, social and environmental aspects of the region’s development model. The multiple and profound impacts that the health crisis has had and continues to have, despite the economic recovery, underscore the region’s vulnerability.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for comprehensive policies and the importance of recognizing the interdependence of health care, the economy, social development and the environment, and its prolongation has served to cement the central role of State action. The role that the State has played during this protracted crisis has been fundamental in containing and mitigating its profound repercussions and the erosion of social and economic development.”
Millions of dollars have been borrowed from the various international agencies from the Inter-American Development Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, all in an attempt to keep countries afloat during the crisis.
Needless to say we are not fully out of the woods yet on this and in fact, it seems as if every time we turn a corner on the pandemic a new strain comes along and puts us right back to square one. This has heightened the need to work within the confines of the disease while strengthening systems simultaneously.
This this end, the report advocated for “adequate access to vaccines” and “capacity building for adequate vaccination programmes,” where it added: “Countries should develop a national vaccination plan. This would be a document to guide the overall allocation of resources for a successful vaccination campaign, by ensuring resources are available at all levels of operation (for example, personal protective equipment, vaccine supply, storage and transportation within a continuous cold chain system, human resources, security and other requirements).”
It also said: “In order to prepare for the distribution of licensed COVID-19 vaccines, countries must commit funds to develop programmatic infrastructure including the cold chain, secure human resources, and purchase doses. Governments should consider the challenges faced by expanded programmes of immunization, such as lack of funds, human resources, logistical infrastructure, transportation and social communication to reach certain remote areas. They should also ensure that additional funds are available to scale-up the vaccination programme once more doses of COVID-19 vaccines become available in 2022.”
The IDB, CDB, WB and IMF have stepped up in these times in addition to minor aid from the US and EU, no doubt they will add more. However, more is needed to stem the misinformation around vaccination and bring more people into an awareness that they have to become vaccinated.