Measures implemented to control the pandemic as well as measures for the reactivation and rebuilding phases will require increased public investment in health until the recommended parameters are achieved. It is necessary to ensure the strengthening of health systems and the expansion and reconfiguration of quality health services with a primary health care approach, and to immediately address unmet health needs, reduce inequities, and improve conditions for accessing essential services, including financial protection.
This joint report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is issued at a time when several countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. The region is particularly vulnerable because of its high levels of labor informality, urbanization, poverty, and inequality, and its weak health and social protection systems, in addition to the fact that it has large population groups living in vulnerable conditions and who require special attention. While the Caribbean countries have managed to control the pandemic more quickly, the Latin American countries have not yet been able to reduce infection levels.
The main conclusion of this report is that if the pandemic transmission curve is not brought under control, the countries’ economies will be unable to recover. In order to both control the pandemic and reopen the economy, States must demonstrate effective and dynamic leadership and stewardship through national plans that incorporate health, economic, and social policies. Moreover, for the pandemic to be controlled and economic recovery and reconstruction promoted, fiscal spending must be increased and made more efficient, effective and equitable, with public spending on health equivalent to at least 6% of GDP.
