The World Health Organization on Nov. 18 declared an end to its global health emergency over the spread of the Zika virus, saying instead that the virus is a dangerous mosquito-borne disease that should be treated as an ongoing threat rather than as an emergency. What are the next major health challenges the Americas will have to face in the near and long term?
Katherine E. Bliss, Barry Featherman, Ricardo Izurieta, Francisco Becerra
On November 15, 2016, the Inter-American Dialogue and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law convened a private roundtable discussion on funding for the current Zika virus outbreak in the Americas. In September 2016, the US Congress approved $1.1 billion for the emergency Zika response, which raises a number of important questions around funding allocation and priority setting, both domestically and globally.
On April 14, 2021, the Inter-American Dialogue hosted the online event “The Covid-19 Pandemic and Prison Policy in Latin America”. The panel discussed a new report published by the Dialogue’s Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program and authored by María Luisa Romero, Luisa Stalman, and Azul Hidalgo Solá, which examined how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted prison policies in Latin America.
As part of the “environmental management” component of the Prosperity and Progress in Intermediate Cities project, these slides present the results of a survey conducted in three municipalities in the department of San Marcos, Guatemala: San Marcos, San Antonio Sacatepéquez, and San Pedro Sacatepéquez.
Manuel Orozco
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On May 6, 2021, the Inter-American Dialogue hosted the online event, “Healthcare Investment & Economic Recovery in the Americas.” The panel discussed the state of healthcare in the region, and how targeting specific health investments can lead to a more sustainable economic recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean. The event featured welcome remarks by Michael Shifter, with comments from panelists Luis Miguel Castilla, Jaana Remes and Rolf Hoenger.
The Covid-19 pandemic has laid bare fundamental weaknesses in political leadership, coordination, and health policy integration in the Western Hemisphere. The current geopolitical divides undermined the few mechanisms that were in place for effective cooperation on health governance. This white paper presented by the Inter-American Health Task Force, aims to understand better the lessons and challenges of the regional response to Covid-19 and appraise, in retrospect, how they were addressed and how they could have been addressed. The paper also makes specific recommendations. These recommendations are grouped into five areas geared toward improving cooperation and coordination in health policy to support regional Covid-19 response and recovery, as well as future health emergencies.
On June 28, 2021, the Inter-American Dialogue hosted the online event “Deepening Cooperation on Health Policy in the Americas.” The panel discussed a new report published by the Inter-American Health Task Force, which analyzed the response to Covid-19 in the Western Hemisphere and identified recommendations to improve cooperation and coordination in health policies across the Americas.
The Western Hemisphere has been deeply affected by the Covid-19 crisis, which has countless consequences, but also offers the opportunity to develop more robust health systems. Mobilizing resources on a larger scale than previously expected from public and private sources will foster long-term sustainability and resilience of health systems, especially in the face of a health crisis.
A Latin America Advisor Q&A featuring experts’ viewpoints on how Covid-19 has affected the structure of health care in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Katherine E. Bliss, Jarbas Barbosa, Antonio Vergara, Ricardo Izurieta
Sylvia Escovar has been chosen to lead as the new strategic president of EPS Sanitas Comprehensive Health Group, a company that offers health care services and economic benefits to its members.
El 16 de febrero 2022 Michael Shifter, presidente de Diálogo Interamericano, ha dialogado con Irene Mia del Instituto Internacional para Estudios Estratégicos (IIEE) a los micrófonos de France24 sobre el estado actual de la democracia en América Latina y el Caribe. Según el informe anual “Democracy Index” del The Economist, ALC ha visto en el 2021 la peor declinación democrática desde que se publica el reportaje.
Across the Americas, political leadership committed to greater collaboration to tackle health, social, economic, and political challenges has been sorely lacking. The Dialogue is pleased to present the 2022 Linowitz report “The Case for Renewed Cooperation in a Troubled Hemisphere,” which provides an analysis of the interrelated challenges facing the Western Hemisphere today and policy proposals to enhance collaboration across the hemisphere, all with an eye towards the Ninth Summit of the Americas.