“Many communities and people are currently in such a precarious situation that their right to health is not guaranteed,” said Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, at the 60th meeting of the Board of Directors of the Pan American Health Organization panel held this week.
He stressed that disadvantages disproportionately affect the health and well-being of indigenous and Afro-Colombian populations, low-income populations, people living in informal settlements or remote areas, migrants, women and girls, and members of the LGBTQI+ community. socioeconomic and discrimination.
Data from the organization shows that in the region only 25 percent of the goals are on track to be achieved by 2030, while almost 50 percent are moving in the right direction but too slowly, and the remaining 25 percent are declining in Latin America are the Caribbean.
In addition, inequalities between countries are also increasing.
Currently, nearly 45 percent of people under 18 in America live in poverty.
In 2022, 56.5 million people were affected by hunger in the region, a number that has increased by 13.2 million since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In addition, life expectancy at birth also fell by three years between 2019 and 2021, from 75.1 to 72.1 years, representing the largest decline among any region in the world.
Barbosa emphasized that since 2015, America has experienced a deterioration in wealth levels, a stagnation in educational achievement and an increase in poverty rates, a situation that has been exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic.
“To achieve fairer societies, we must focus on the social, economic and political conditions that make it difficult for certain populations to enjoy the highest levels of health and well-being, including access to quality health services,” added the director PAHO.
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