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
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
Responsiveness put to the test
The emergency generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has put to the test the public and private sectors´ response capacity as never before. It is alarming to see in the news how the pandemic overflows the healthcare system in developed countries. Likewise, the response capacity of other critical sectors has also been severely affected. For example, social protection services … [Read more...] about Responsiveness put to the test
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