C O V I D - 1 9 R E P O RTS
People of African descent and COVID-19: unveiling structural inequalities in Latin America January 2021
Introduction1 The global crisis that has led to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is having a heavy impact not only on health but also on economic, social and other areas, which, in turn, is exacerbating existing structural problems in all countries in the region. A number of Latin American countries have now become the epicentre of the pandemic and are topping the global statistics of daily cases (above Europe and the United States) and, in many, this indicator, which is key in the spread of the epidemic, has accelerated. Although many Latin American and Caribbean countries have established physical isolation measures to reduce infection and prevent health systems from collapsing, the region’s structural problems make it more complex to mount an immediate response to the crisis (ECLAC/PAHO, 2020). A few Latin American countries (Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Argentina and Chile) are among the world’s 20 nations with the highest number of people infected with COVID-19. Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Ecuador are among the 20 nations with the most deaths from the disease. Panama, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Colombia are also on the list of the 20 countries with the highest number of confirmed cases per million inhabitants, and Peru, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Colombia are among the 20 countries with the most deaths per million inhabitants (Worldometer, 2020).2
Introduction I. Reasons why COVID-19 might be having a disproportionate impact on the Afrodescendent population II. The Afrodescendent population and its vulnerability to COVID-19: what the data tell us A. Poverty B. Adequate housing and access to services C. Education D. Employment and income III. Actions to combat COVID-19 IV. Recommendations Bibliography
COVID-19 compounds the adversity and difficulties in all sorts of areas that are faced by people living in poverty, especially as this population experiences more severe problems of food security and access to basic and health services. Such problems include living in conditions of food insecurity and overcrowded housing, with poor access to safe water and no sanitation. This leads to a higher incidence of disease and comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, which increase the risk of both contracting COVID-19 and suffering complications once infected. Many of these people are key workers providing essential services during the pandemic, such as cleaning, transport, courier services, storage and care. They cannot provide these services from home, making it difficult to comply with physical distancing measures and contributing to increased COVID-19 transmission. Many such jobs are informal and performed by people with no savings to tide them over in times of crisis and no access to social protection. The pandemic is therefore highlighting not only the urgent need to increase support for people living in poverty to enable them to withstand the most acute period of the crisis but also how imperative it is to combat poverty and inequalities in the medium and long term. COVID-19 is exposing social inequalities of all kinds, as well as the overrepresentation of Afrodescendants among the group living in poverty who are employed in informal and caregiving jobs (ECLAC, 2017a and 2017b). As Afrodescendants have worse indicators of
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Unless otherwise indicated, the cut-off date for the information used to prepare this report is 31 August 2020. Countries are listed in descending order of the number of cases.
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