COVID Spectrum
The importance of prevention was due to the
Social Determinants of Health, an indicator
measured by the World Health Organization.
“The region faces its own challenges that
aggravate the panorama: a limited fiscal space, less
developed health and social security systems, large
capital outflows, a large proportion of informal
workers without any social protection, and great
social discontent,” explained Garda.
According to the International Labor Organization,
more than 53% of the labour force in Latin America
is informal. “This means that if you worked and
earned £10, that is all you get. But if you had a bad
day and didn’t earn anything, then zero is what you
go home with. It is a model on which you live day
by day. When forced to lockdown, people will start
to overlook the law, and go out to work to get what
they need to survive,” explained Melissa Russi,
Economic and Labour Sociologist.
The scenario results in some people ignoring
restrictions and others losing their jobs because
companies, small and medium-sized, are not able
to hold all the positions while not producing any
income.
“
Not everyone has access
to a smartphone/laptop or
knows how to use them
”
Governments without enough resources face a
sudden poverty increase that will hit the economy
for a long time.
Adding to it, the region has to adjust to what the
world calls “the new normal”.
Working and studying from home was, for many,
a silver lining. People had to learn how to balance
it, and though some people struggled, in the end,
it became the new normal, along with a vast set of
memes to lighten up the mood.
Migrating to online work and school was a
possibility for some companies and education
centres, but the fact that you can move your
operations to an online environment is not a
guarantee that your employees/students will be
able to do the same. This is specifically true in
Latin-America.
“Not everyone has access to a smartphone, a PC, a
laptop, a high-speed internet connection, etc. But
beyond the tools, there is also a lack of education
on how to use them and the digital platforms,”
observed Russi, “now you have a person that has
to sit the whole day in front of a computer and also
needs to upgrade his internet connection to meet
the requirement for his job.”
According to both experts, this pandemic is an
opportunity for the whole region to invest on their
national assets, resources, and develop new ways
to support national businesses.
But what comes next?
HOW TO HELP
Frena La Curva (Argentina)
https://argentina.frenalacurva.net/
acerca-de/
Las burbujas del mar (Mexico)
@brujasdelmar
Colectivo Embajador Humanitario
(Colombia) Facebook
To read more about the next steps for the region
visit The Hyph-n website.
image Unsplash: Diego Marin
21