As we have struggled to navigate the current crisis, we have heard the coronavirus referred to as a “great equalizer”. These claims, however, were swiftly rebuked. While the virus can indeed affect any one of us, we know that individuals with preexisting medical conditions are extremely vulnerable. And pre-existing social and economic inequalities can be just as devastating. … [Read more...] about No great equalizer
Diversity
Exposure and Inequalities: African Descendants During COVID-19
Initial evidence that COVID-19 is reaching Afro descendant communities in Latin America is growing. Statistics in Brazil show that Afro-Brazilians are more likely to have severe respiratory symptoms that are lethal (more than 20%), while the Colombian Pacific coast, with a large Afro-Colombian and indigenous population, registered the first cases of coronavirus weeks ago, and … [Read more...] about Exposure and Inequalities: African Descendants During COVID-19
The 2020 Pandemic: The Need for Urgent, Culturally Appropriate Responses for Indigenous Peoples
COVID-19 disproportionately affects indigenous peoples. This presents a major health challenge requiring immediate responses that account for indigenous peoples’ diverse cultural and linguistic contexts. In Latin America, nearly 53 million people of the more than 700 indigenous groups face a myriad of preexisting adverse conditions, such as high levels of poverty and other … [Read more...] about The 2020 Pandemic: The Need for Urgent, Culturally Appropriate Responses for Indigenous Peoples
Bocaccio and the COVID-19: Disability in the days of The Plague
Looking for stuff to do during the quarantine, I played the Decameron audiobook, remembering that it was about the Black Death. I thought I could find something on how people with disabilities were dealt with during the XIV century. I found it fascinating. It´s as if not a day had gone by since that March in 1348. Like today, the leading actor in the Western World was Italy, … [Read more...] about Bocaccio and the COVID-19: Disability in the days of The Plague
Focusing on diversity in the search for gender equality
In the 70s, the philosopher John Rawls published his Theory of Justice. He used a very powerful metaphor for this discussion: that of the "veil of ignorance." He argued that if covered by a veil of ignorance about our individual characteristics, our socioeconomic status, our talents, and skills, we would be able to agree on a set of rules about our coexistence in society, only … [Read more...] about Focusing on diversity in the search for gender equality