Health inequity during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cry for ethical global leadership
Chiriboga, David E. ; Garay, Juan ; Buss, Paulo ; Madrigal, Rocio Saenz ; Rispel, Laetitia Charmaine
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Abstract
Widespread reports of disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among already vulnerable communities worldwide, from New York City to New Orleans and Chicago, to the shocking pictures of bodies lying in the streets in Ecuador, represent a prelude of the impact in low-income and middle-income countries, home to more than 80% of the world's population. Disadvantaged people are at higher risk of infection and death from COVID-19, and they have less access to care due to systems that treat health as a commodity and not a human right. Furthermore, most health-care systems are not prepared to handle a pandemic of this magnitude. Overwhelmed European and US systems are ominous reminders of the challenges faced in poor countries.
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Chiriboga D, Garay J, Buss P, Madrigal RS, Rispel LC. Health inequity during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cry for ethical global leadership. Lancet. 2020 May 15. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31145-4. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32419711; PMCID: PMC7225689. Link to article on publisher's site