Latin America concentrates up to 46% of deaths from covid-19: PAHO

“Five countries in America: the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Colombia are among the 10 countries in the world with the highest number of deaths,” he said during the presentation of the report The prolongation of the health crisis and its impact on health, economy and social development, together with Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

“We have observed high rates of deaths in health workers due to lack of protective equipment. The deaths disproportionately affect the elderly and men, although all groups have been affected, more concentrated in the 25 to 39 age group, ”Etienne explained.

He assured that the “region of America has been the epicenter of the pandemic and to date there are more than 91.7 million cases, that is, 39 percent of global cases, and 2.3 million deaths, that is, 46 percent of deaths in the world ”.

The report reveals that in the first wave there was more death control, but in the second, in Mexico mortality reached 50 percent in the first six months of 2021.

It also considers that in Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Bolivia, Uruguay and Brazil the “weak response to covid-19” was due to delays in case reporting, limited testing, inadequate isolation, and lack of preventive measures.

In addition, the confinement created poverty and barriers to access to essential services (medical care and food aid). In addition, regarding “strict measures that result in unemployment and informality, problems of sectoral and intersectoral coordination”, it is found Mexico.

The suspension of services and hospital saturation also increased the population’s spending and impoverishment.

In Mexico, spending ranged 42 percent, the average for Latin America was 34, and in the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development it was 21 percent.

The pandemic, Etienne said, evidenced the region’s dependence on the most industrialized countries; However, Mexico’s investment is above the Dominican Republic, but below Colombia, Barbados, Costa Rica and Brazil, among others.

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