Regional Highlights

• The  coronavirus  disease  (COVID-19)  pandemic has arrived in Latin America and the Caribbean in a context of low growth and, above all, of marked inequality  and  vulnerability,  with  growing  poverty and    extreme    poverty,    weakening    of    social cohesion and expressions of social discontent.
• Latin  America  has  seen  coronavirus  infections surge  over  the  last  weeks  and  is  now  the  new epicenter  of  the  pandemic,  representing  about 40 percent of daily deaths globally now.
• Brazil has been hardest-hit in the region, rising to the second-highest number of cases in the world. Peru,  Mexico  and  Chile  are  also  seeing  steady increases in infections. The outbreak in the region is expected to accelerate until mid-June.
• Most   countries   in   the   region   have   weak   and fragmented    health    systems,    which    do    not guarantee    the    universal    access    needed    to address the COVID-19 health crisis.
• The  impact  on  the  health  of  personnel  on  the frontlines, which often lack sufficient and adequate personal protection equipment (PPE), continues to be high.
• The crisis is also having a considerable impact on women’s access to healthcare and, in particular, to sexual     and     reproductive     health     services. Lockdown  measures  enforced  in  countries  have also  led  to  a  sharp  increase  in  gender-based violence.
• The  COVID-19  pandemic  is  showing  increased incidence      among      vulnerable      populations, particularly  indigenous  people,  afro-descendants, prisoners, migrants, and LGBTI people.
• Urgent funding is needed to meet rising needs.