The working group on Determinants of International Health drawed up a thematic document for 11.11.11 / CNCD – 11.11.11 .
This document arguments that the COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a public health crisis, but increasingly also a social crisis. The impact and potential health risks are not the same for everyone. The coronavirus has laid bare existing inequalities in society and deepens them even more.
- In the United States, black citizens are five times more likely to die from the coronavirus than white citizens. (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/racial-ethnic-minorities.html)
- Worldwide, 100 million people can be pushed into extreme poverty because of health care expenses. (https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/13-12-2017-world-bank-and-who-half-the-world-lacks-access-to-essential-health-services-100-million-still-pushed-into-extreme-poverty-because-of-health-expenses)
- 40% of the world’s population has no access to water and soap at home. (https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/fact-sheet-handwashing-soap-critical-fight-against-coronavirus-out-reach-billions)
“The increasing saturation in prisons makes detainees very vulnerable to disease, especially at a time when we are facing the deadly threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the overcrowded rooms, the safety of persons deprived of their freedom is in no way guaranteed”. – Cristina Palabay, Secretary General of Karapatan, partner of Viva Salud in the Philippines
“The majority of Hondurans work in the informal sector and have no social safety net. These people have lost their income overnight and have little or no reserves. This undermines support for the measures. People would rather run the risk of infection than die of malnutrition. – Samuel Zelaya, coordinator of ALCISAHO, health partner of FOS in Honduras
“The lack of personal protective equipment (adequate masks, protective clothing, etc…), as well as the lack of care and/or diagnostic equipment (respirators, etc…) in the hospitals where care is provided, exposes healthcare workers to a high risk of infection with COVID-19 and maintains a high level of stress among healthcare workers”. – Dr. Jean-Clovis Kalobu, Memisa Medical Advisor in DR Congo
