April 28
According to the WHO‘s Glossary of terms, health inequity can be understood as differences in health status between different population groups. For example, differences in mortality rates between people from different social classes.
Concerned about the escalating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among already vulnerable and marginalized populations worldwide, dozens of institutions of health, science, education and related fields sent an open letter –Health Inequity during the Pandemic: A Cry for Ethical Global Leadership – to the United Nations calling for the creation of a Task Force on Global Health Equity.
Foto: WHO
“Media reports are surfacing of higher infection rates and mortality in underserved populations. From New York to New Orleans and Chicago in the US, to the shocking pictures of bodies lying in the streets in Ecuador, we see a prelude of the coronavirus impact in low- and middle-income countries, home to more than 80% of the world’s population,” says the letter.
The letter calls for a task force to be created by WHO to face the impact of the pandemic among already vulnerable populations worldwide, providing support to regional production of generic drugs, supplies and equipment.
See the full letter in English:
Health Inequity during the Pandemic: A Cry for Ethical Global Leadership
See our special section Coronavirus and History.
See articles about the World Health Organization:
In Memoriam: Dr. Elizabeth Fee – We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Dr. Elizabeth Fee on October 17, 2018. Dr. Fee was a remarkable and influential public health historian.
“Entre 30 y 35% de los diagnósticos son muy tardíos” – Una breve entrevista con Massimo Ghidinelli, Jefe de la Unidad de VIH de la Organización Panamericana de la Salud, sobre el perfil epidemiológico actual del SIDA en América Latina y el Caribe.
Una enfermedad sin precedentes en las Américas – José Moya,epidemiologo de la OPS/OMS Argentina, analiza las respuestas de los gobiernos de América Latina al zika y las consecuencias reveladas por la enfermedad.
Health is not a commodity – See the Brazilian Contribution (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation and National Health Council) to the Global Conference on Primary Health Care, Astana, October 2018.
A divided US: The unexpected electoral victory of Trump – Theodore Brown, professor of history at the University of Rochester analyses the victory of Donald Trump and the reactions of the progressive political forces in the US.
Brown, Theodore M., Cueto, Marcos and Fee, Elizabeth. A transição de saúde pública ‘internacional’ para ‘global’ e a Organização Mundial da Saúde. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Set 2006, vol.13, no.3, p.623-647. ISSN 0104-5970
Cueto, Marcos. La “cultura de la sobrevivencia” y la salud pública internacional en América Latina: la Guerra Fría y la erradicación de enfermedades a mediados del siglo XX. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Mar 2015, vol.22, no.1.
