COVID-19 - PAHO/WHO Response, Report 63 (5 November 2021)

PAHO released the results of Round Two of the National Pulse Survey on Continuity of Essential Health Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic (February to March 2021) on 25 October 2021. The WHO/PAHO joint report notes that the average percentage of interrupted essential health services increased slightly from 44% in 2020 to 46% in 2021, which indicates that health systems in the Americas still face significant challenges almost two years into the pandemic. The 2021 survey was sent to 52 countries and territories in the Americas, and its findings provide information on countries’ current experiences, the extent of disruptions in a set of tracer services, the reason for these disruptions, and mitigation strategies implemented by countries. The survey results are important as they provide information to support decision-makers to take stock of current challenges and serve as a basis for planning processes and resource allocation at the national, regional, and global levels. They are also critical to support actions to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, including those implemented by PAHO's Incident Management Support Team, and the actions of the WHO Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.