This report aims to outline the current available knowledge on the health and wellbeing of older persons in the Region of the Americas during the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030). It also seeks to guide political actions towards ensuring the human rights of older persons, and desc
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ribes the negotiation and drafting process behind the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons. It reports on the doctrinal and legal developments that led the Region of the Americas to draft the Convention and describes its action areas and guaranteed rights, as well as the obligations assumed by the States Parties. The Convention is an essential tool to advance the strategies of the Decade of Healthy Ageing. This publication reflects on the importance of having a major legal instrument for this purpose at the international level. The demographic transition in Latin America and the Caribbean will continue to shape the ability of countries and health systems to respond to the needs of the population. Given this reality, international instruments will be needed to guarantee the full enjoyment of the human rights of older persons. In order to design inclusive and sustainable systems, accurate, updated, and effective information is required. The Decade of Healthy Ageing––the initiative that constitutes the framework for this document––is a strategic period in which to focus on data generation and monitoring.
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La enfermedad de Chagas es parasitaria y afecta a más de 6 millones
de personas en el mundo. Como normalmente es asintomática durante
años, los nuevos casos suelen no detectarse ni reportarse y la mayoría
de las personas con la enfermedad no tiene conciencia de su condición.
Se diagnostica
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a menos del 10% de las personas afectadas, y en su gran
mayoría estas no reciben el tratamiento que necesitan. Sin tratamiento,
la enfermedad de Chagas puede causar daños irreversibles al corazón y
otros órganos vitales, o la muerte.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on health care systems that, in many instances, worsened the already existing assistance gaps. When it comes to Latin America and Central
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America, this challenge adds to the consequences mass mobilizations have had in recent years, which have exceeded the national capacities to provide prompt assistance and social protection, particularly in the health care field. This pandemic has a direct impact on people on the move since the movement restriction policies and the lockdown and social distancing measures have reduced their ability to insert themselves into economic activities that were already precarious in many cases. Consequently, they have less access to food, housing, medicines and other essential consumer goods, and fewer possibilities of getting to their countries of destinati
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This publication summarizes the facilitators and barriers that will be encountered in the deinstitutionalization process and identifies useful and proven interventions in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Four areas of work are identified with
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the respective guidelines or suggestions for action, which should provide an operational guide for countries that are restructuring mental health services and moving toward the deinstitutionalization of psychiatric care.
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In the face of rapid increases in the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean, coupled with shortages of human and material resources, including medical equipme
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nt and gases, there is a need to redesign models of care in the Region to optimize available resources and ensure that more patients receive the quantity and quality of oxygen they need. Oxygen is included in the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines and is used to care for patients at all levels of integrated health services networks. The efficacy of oxygen use in the treatment of patients with respiratory conditions caused by COVID-19 has been demonstrated, but there is great opportunity to improve the effectiveness of its use if it is used in a rational, sustainable, and safe way. Bearing in mind that the efficacy of a health technology is measured by its benefit under actual conditions of use, practical actions can be taken to improve the use of medical oxygen and avoid oxygen shortages. A drug is considered to be used rationally when patients receive it according to their clinical needs, in doses appropriate to their individual needs, for an appropriate period, and at a low cost to them and their community. By providing instruction on the rational use of oxygen and promoting it, negative repercussions can be avoided, such as loss of efficacy as a result of activities related to oxygen storage, distribution, and administration. Rational use of oxygen also involves controlling waste due to leaks in storage and distribution systems, use of gas at incorrect pressures, use of incorrectly adjusted flowmeters, and disconnections, among other problems. Another aspect to consider is the provision of adequate technical support for all oxygen production systems, in terms of maintenance and calibration, availability of electrical energy, and specific knowledge about these systems. For these reasons, a set of guidelines has been put together for the development of an efficient management system to deal with situations of oxygen scarcity, both now and in the future.
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This technical note summarizes the consolidated guidelines and adapts them to the context of Latin America and the Caribbean, in order to adequately monitor the number of people on ART. For this pur
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pose, guidance is presented on the indicators and the methodology to know more precisely the number of people who are in ART.
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Chagas disease affects approximately 6 million people, mainly in Latin America. Less than 1% of affected individuals receive proper antiparasitic treatment, and current drugs are inadequate to fight
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the entire spectrum of the disease. Against this background, Novartis is pursuing an end-to-end approach, with activity on three fronts: drug discovery, clinical research and health system strengthening.
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Chagas disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi is a public health issue in Latin America. This highly diverse parasite is divided into at least seven discrete typing units (DTUs) TcI-TcVI and Tcbat. Som
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e DTUs have been associated with geographical distribution in epidemiological scenarios and clinical manifestations, but these aspects remain poorly understood. Many studies have focused on studying the parasite and its vectors/hosts, using a wide variety of genetic markers and methods. Here, we performed a systematic review of the literature for the last 20 years to present an update of DTUs distribution in the Americas, collecting ecoepidemiological information. We found that the DTUs are widespread across the continent and that there is a whole gamma of genetic markers used for the identification and genotyping of the parasite. The data obtained in this descriptor could improve the molecular epidemiology studies of Chagas disease in endemic regions.
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To support its R&D activities on Chagas disease, DNDi launched the Chagas Clinical Research Platform (CCRP). The platform brings together partners, experts, and stakeholders to provide support for evaluation and development of new treatments for Chagas disease. The patient-centred platform aims to f
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acilitate clinical research, provide a forum for technical discussions, develop a critical mass of expertise, and strengthen institutional research capacities. In addition, it identifies and reviews priority needs, works towards standardization of methodology to assess drug efficacy and reviews alternatives for using current approved drugs (new schemes, doses, combination) and special scenarios (resistance).
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This document compiles the recommendations made by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to help professionals in charge of vector control programs in Latin Am
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erica and the Caribbean at the national, subnational, and local level update their knowledge in order to make evidence-based decisions on the most appropriate control measures for each specific situation. IVM can be used for surveillance and control or for elimination of VBDs and can help reduce the development of insecticide resistance through the rational use of these products. This document provides instructions for fulfillment of the 2008 PAHO mandate set forth in CD 48/13 (Integrated Vector Management).
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Health systems in Latin America face many challenges in controlling the increasing burden of diabetes. Digital health interventions are a promise for the provision of care, especially in developing
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countries where mobile technology has a high penetration. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the implementation of a Diabetes Program (DP) that included digital health interventions to improve the quality of care of persons with type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) in a vulnerable population attending the public primary care network.
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It is estimated that, in Latin America alone, between 6 and 8 million people are infected with the parasite, and 99% of these are not receiving treatment, either because they are unaware of their in
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fection or because they do not know that treatment exists. The potential spread of the disease is also a cause for considerable concern: 65 million people live in areas of exposure and are at risk of contracting Chagas disease, and 28,000 new cases occur every year.
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Chagas disease affects 8-10 million people worldwide, mainly in Latin America. The current therapy for Chagas disease is limited to nifurtimox and benznidazole, which are effective in treating only
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the acute phase of the disease but with severe side effects. Therefore, there is an unmet need for new drugs and for the exploration of innovative approaches which may lead to the discovery of new effective and safe drugs for its treatment.
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The current effort on fighting COVID-19 cannot conceal the fact that climatic and geological hazards affect Latin-America and the Caribbean every year. At a time when countries of the region are act
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ively responding to the pandemic, they also need to prepare for and implement actions to mitigate the potential impacts of other recurrent hazards. For instance, countries like Guatemala and El Salvador have been recently hit by tropical storm Amanda and, as the Caribbean region faces its annual hurricane season, countries are enhancing climate-hazard preparedness. Many countries are bracing for a two-tier crisis as they grapple with complicated logistics, limited resources and scant supplies.
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This manual has been prepared by the Group on Agriculture of the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. The purpose of this work is to spread the basic concepts of Good Agricultura
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l Practices (GAP)in order to: guide the production systems towards a sustainable agriculture and ecologically safe, obtain harmless products of higher quality, contribute to food security generating income through the access to markets and improve working conditions of producers and their families.
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The spread of COVID-19 poses a challenge for emerging markets such as those in Africa and Latin America. While governments around the world are suffering from a shortage of ventilators, hospital bed
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s, and personal protective equipment, availability of these items is already extremely limited in some countries. In Africa, countries including Mali, Liberia, and Burkina Faso have only a few ventilators available to aid their populations, and there is also a lack of reliable oxygen supplies, ICUs, and healthcare workers to treat the sick. Additionally, many countries in Africa are already suffering from food insecurity and weak economies, which will worsen the long-term effects of coronavirus.
Keeping these factors in mind, GeoPoll conducted a remote study in 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa on the effects coronavirus is already having on people throughout the region.
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In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), one maternal death was registered every hour in 2020. That same year, the trend in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) for the Region of the Americas regress
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ed alarmingly and unprecedentedly to the levels seen two decades ago. In addition to indicating a worsening of health outcomes, these figures also signal a deepening of inequalities, representing thousands of individual, unacceptable tragedies that in most cases could have been preventable. Maternal death is the result of a multifactorial process in which structural elements such as the economic system, environmental conditions, and culture interact. Other factors related to social inequality are also present, such as racism, poverty, gender inequality, and lack of access to the education system. The current situation calls for urgent mobilization of the health systems of LAC countries in order to strengthen efforts to combat maternal mortality, especially in countries that are still far from achieving the SHAA2030 regional target. For this reason, a preventive, health-promoting, life-course-based approach is needed, with models of care centered on women, families, and the community Scientific evidence shows that health systems with a solid foundation in primary health care (PHC) achieve better outcomes, greater equity, and reduced health expenditures. To address this, PAHO proposes a strategy, aimed primarily at women who are in the most vulnerable situation, who are the ones who represent the greatest burden of maternal mortality, to accelerate the reduction of maternal mortality in the Region of the Americas, based on the expansion and strengthening of PHC.
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The region of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has high levels of income inequality and urbanization. This leaves a large percentage of the population exposed and vulnerable to infectious disea
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se outbreaks (1). The COVID-19 outbreak occurred suddenly, within a complex economic, social and political context and at a time of low economic growth and high levels of informal labour. Structural challenges of poverty, deep inequality across different dimensions, and weak health and social protection systems exacerbated the region’s vulnerability to the pandemic
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Faced with the largest population outflow in Latin America of recent years, 95 organizations covering 16 countries have been working together to establish a comprehensive response to the urgent need
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s of millions of refugees and migrants from Venezuela, and host communities.
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The spread of COVID-19 poses a challenge for emerging markets such as those in Africa and Latin America. While governments around the world are suffering from a shortage of ventilators, hospital bed
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s, and personal protective equipment, availability of these items is already extremely limited in some countries.
You can also view the results in the interactive dashboard below, which will be updated with new data over time.
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