In this second joint report the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) provide an update on the evolution of the pandemic and its implications for health society and the economy; define potential scenarios for control and evolution in the short term; and further elaborate on the recommended long-term lines of action to strengthen the State’s capacity to respond to the populati Read More

This document examines the situation of persons with disabilities in terms of the impact that COVID-19 (coronavirus) could have taking into consideration age and sex health conditions types of disability access to basic infrastructure overcrowding in the home access to information and communications technology (ICT) employment status and education. In conclusion the report presents some national actions that have been taken to reduce the impact of the Read More

In the context of the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is preparing a series of short publications with key policy recommendations for this period. This note the third on household surveys offers some considerations regarding the continuity of this type of statistical instrument in a context of initial lifting of the restrictions on movement in the region that were put in place t Read More

COVID-19 (coronavirus) is exposing social inequalities of all kinds in the world and the region as well as the overrepresentation of Afrodescendants among the group living in poverty who are employed in informal and caregiving jobs. As Afrodescendants have worse indicators of well-being than their non-Afrodescendent peers they are seen as one of the groups most vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of both infection and mortality. Acc Read More

In the context of the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is preparing a series of short publications with relevant policy recommendations for this period. This note includes several recommendations for the continued collection of information linked to national accounts balance-of-payments and foreign trade statistics.

Tourism in the region has come to a temporary standstill beginning in April 2020 as a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This paralysis has not only hit Caribbean economies and employment hard but also many local communities in Latin America. In this brief the contribution of tourism to exports gross domestic product (GDP) and employment is reviewed together with the recent downturn in this activity in the region. An impact sce Read More

Latin America and the Caribbean is highly dependent on imports of medical products as less than 4% of these are sourced within the region itself. To date more than 70 countries —including four of the region’s top five suppliers of which the first is the United States— have restricted their medical exports in response to COVID-19. Export restrictions are hampering the supply of products essential for fighting the pandemic in the region. Latin America a Read More

In the context of the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is preparing a series of short publications with relevant policy recommendations for this period. This note offers a number of recommendations to address the impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities in the region.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought to light in an unprecedented way the importance of care for the sustainability of life and the low visibility of this sector in the economies of the region where it is still considered an externality and not a fundamental component of development. The ongoing health crisis highlights the unfair social organization of care work in Latin America and the Caribbean. There is an urgent need to consider Read More