Deaths could include up to 11,300 maternal deaths, 10,000 children
Latin America and the Caribbean will face the loss of tens of thousands of lives and economic development if it does not strengthen their resilience in primary health care, warned a report released by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The region could face up to 165,000 avoidable deaths and economic losses between 7,000 and 37,000 million dollars if a health emergency, such as a natural pandemic or disaster, reduced the provision of primary health care services between 25 % and 50 % for a period of one to five years.
Those deaths They could include up to 11,300 maternal deaths, 10,000 children and more than 149,000 due to noncommissible diseasesin addition to up to 14 million unplanned pregnancies, according to the overwhelming studio projections.
Doctor Jarbas Barbosa, director of the PAHO, warned that “without a primary resilient health care, the next crisis will hit the poorest and most marginalized communities again.”
But, on the other hand, “with her, we can ensure that the essential services – prevention, treatment and care – continue before, during and after the crises,” he said.
For Barbosa “there is no dilemma between building a primary care of solid health and building resilience: they go hand in hand. Resilience is not a luxury: it is the basis of health security, social stability and economic growth,” he said.
The report defines resilience as the ability of health systems to maintain essential services before, during and after crises, including pandemics, hurricanes, heat waves, floods and sprouts of vector -transmitted diseases.
He maintains that in the center of resilience there is a primary care of solid health, with community roots, capable of reaching everyone, especially the most vulnerable.
The study evokes the Covid-19 pandemic, which showed the vulnerabilities of the region. Despite representing only 8.5% of the world’s population, Latin America and the Caribbean registered 30% of all Covid deaths.
The essential services – such as maternal and neonatal care, child immunization and the treatment of chronic diseases – were reduced by up to 50%, with gaps that in some countries persisted for two years or more.
The region is also one of the most disaster prone in the world, facing a growing number of hurricanes, floods and outbreaks of vector -transmitted diseases.
However, health systems are still strongly incentric, fragmented and with insufficient investment in primary health care.
Jaime Saavedra, Director of Human Development for Latin America and the Caribbean of the World Bank -That coausicted the study- observed that “strengthening primary health care is one of the greatest health challenges in the region.”
“But the most difficult thing is not technical: governments need to place primary health care in the center of their agendas, invest in it urgently already a large scale, and ensure universal coverage, so that protecting lives and economies is not optional but a priority,” said Saavedra.
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Recommendations for Resilient Primary Care
The expert considers that the report “is a road map that shows what works to move towards primary resilient health care”, with recommendations to governments and other regional health actors in five aspects.
First, expand equitable and comprehensive care models that provide services for all, ensuring that each community has access to multiprofesional teams of culturally sensitive health, capable of maintaining the provision of essential services before, during and after a crisis.
It is proposed to integrate the essential public health functions in primary care, including surveillance, vaccination and health promotion at the community level.
It also proposes to place the communities in the center, involving them in decision -making, respecting cultural diversity and building trust through accountability and clear communication.
It is recommended to work intersectorally, recognizing that health results depend on education, housing, climatic resilience and social protection, with public-private collaboration.
And, for all this, ensure sustainable financing, prioritizing predominantly public investment in primary health care and establishing mechanisms to quickly mobilize resources during emergencies.
*Journalism in Venezuela is exercised in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments arranged for the punishment of the word, especially the laws “against hatred”, “against fascism” and “against blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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