Brasilia. The lack of effective political leadership has hampered efforts to stop the Covid-19 pandemic in Latin America, where infections are dangerously increasing, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.
While the United States, Canada and Mexico report an overall decline in coronavirus cases and deaths, new infections are on the rise in the rest of the Americas, PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said.
Colombia has the highest infection rate in South America, where new cases have tripled in some areas, and Brazil is seeing an increase in new infections and hospitalizations.
However, without effective leadership, the nations of Latin America offer a weak response to the disease.
“Unfortunately, across our region we have seen disinformation about Covid-19 casting doubt on proven health measures, often in the context of political conflicts,” Etienne said at a virtual press conference.
“By fueling controversy where there is none, our leaders are sending mixed messages to the public and hampering effective measures to control the virus,” he said.
The biggest concern now is Haiti, where despite the sharp increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, the population largely ignores the public health protocols needed to stop transmission, Etienne said.
The head of the regional agency said it is encouraging that the Haitian government has accepted the AstraZeneca vaccine and that the doses will arrive soon via the Covax program led by the World Health Organization.
Latin America and the Caribbean have the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 as a proportion of their population, with at least 33 million 289,000 infections reported and one million 43,000 deaths reported, according to a Reuters tally.
Brazil leads the region with the most new cases and deaths, and a seven-day average of 1,881 deaths every 24 hours. Argentina and Colombia follow for infections and deaths.
“Travel aficionado. Twitter scholar. Writer. Extreme coffee guru. Evil pop culture fanatic.”