COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean
Resources for Researchers, Policymakers, and Public Health Professionals
The first detected case of COVID-19, the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), in Latin America and the Caribbean was announced on February 26 in Brazil. Since that time, multiple regional and international organizations have developed resources and repositories specific to Latin America and the Caribbean that can support researchers, public health practitioners, and local governments as they track this epidemic and fight the spread of the disease.
LAC-Urban Health has compiled COVID-19 resources and repositories with region-wide relevance below. Follow LAC-Urban Health member analysis of the pandemic on the SALURBlog.
COVID-19 AND URBAN HEALTH IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region is one of the world regions hardest hit by the pandemic. This brief the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic using data compiled by the Salud Urbana en América Latina ("Urban Health in Latin America") project (SALURBAL). The brief includes information on the number of cases, deaths, and vaccinations reported, as well as socioeconomic inequities in these outcomes in Latin American cities. Policy approaches and actions that some cities and countries have implemented to improve data quality and reduce inequities are highlighted.
Download the data brief (English PDF)
Descargar el resumen de datos (Español PDF)
Baixe o resumo dos dados (PDF em português)
SALUD URBANA EN AMÉRICA LATINA (SALURBAL) PROJECT
This brief outlines key recommendations for adapting and supporting public mass transit and active transportation systems to promote safe, healthy, and equitable mobility in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Download the brief (ENG)
Descargar el resumen (SPA)
SALURBAL researchers are tracking the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin American countries, cities, and neighborhoods. The online dashboard developed by the SALURBAL project allows visitors to plot trends of COVID-19 cases and deaths as well as to map these outcomes at various geographic levels: country, city, and sub-city in Latin American countries and compare the progress of the pandemic across countries.
Learn more
Pan American Health Organization
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has launched a page on its website providing its most up-to-date information on the “COVID-19 Situation in the Region of the Americas.”
This page includes links to PAHO situation reports, convenient links to all relevant World Health Organization websites, and an interactive map of cases in the Americas.
PAHO’s interactive map of cases reported in the Americas.
Learn more
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean has established the COVID-19 Observatory in Latin America and the Caribbean: Economic and Social Impact, which “tracks the public policies that the 33 countries of the Latin America and Caribbean region are implementing to limit the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and offers analyses of the economic and social impacts that these policies will have at the national and sectoral levels.”
The observatory website includes an interactive map displaying the actions taken by countries in the region to control the pandemic.
Visit the observatory website.
Latin America and the Caribbean and the COVID-19 pandemic
ECLAC has also produced a special report describing the economic and social effects of the global pandemic in the region. Published on April 6, this report is the first in a series that will be produced as the pandemic evolves and more information becomes available.
Learn more and download data from the report.
Americas Society / Council of the Americas
Here you can find their “Where is the Coronavirus in Latin America?” article which is updated every couple of days to include the latest information on how the pandemic is affecting all Latin American countries, including the number of confirmed cases, number of deaths, and timelines for each country including actions taken by each government to combat the virus.
Learn more
Health Equity Network of the Americas
The Health Equity Network of the Americas is gathering Coronavirus resources submitted by network members and compiling them on their website. Resources are submitted by network members on a rolling basis, and the page is updated weekly to add any new links and publications that have been shared.
These resources include regional news and data, updates and resources from individual countries, research resources, and news and opinion pieces.
Learn more
Cities for Global Health
The Cities for Global Health initiative is led by Metropolis and ALIAS (Alianza Eurolatinoamericana de Cooperacion entre Ciudades) and implemented in collaboration with many other partners including MercoCiudades.
The current focus of this collaboration is to invite submissions from local and regional governments to share how they are reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic. These submissions describe initiatives that governments have taken (such as plans, strategies, or policies) designed specifically as a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This growing list of initiatives by governments currently includes several submissions from several countries in the Latin American and Caribbean regions.
Learn more
The website is accessible in English, Spanish, and French.
PoliMap: COVID-19
A group of more than 50 public health and social scientists and practitioners, including many from Latin America, created an online repository and visualization tool that compares policy responses across countries within four categories: 1) efforts to reduce viral transmission, 2) efforts to increase health system capacity, 3) efforts to reduce the impact of negative consequences of the pandemic and public health interventions, and 4) governance interventions. The aim of this effort is to help policymakers and citizens understand global policy responses to COVID-19. Includes data from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and more.
Learn more
C40 CITIES
Through their Knowledge Hub, C40 Cities seeks to better support city governments to manage the immediate COVID-19 crisis through knowledge capture, dissemination, and peer networks.
This site provides a curated collection of media and resources on topics relevant to mayoral teams and departments that are C40 touch-points: waste, food, buildings, transportation, public engagement, and more.
Visit the hub
Inter-America Development Bank
This platform provides resources from the IDB Group and other institutions that are at the forefront of the global fight against the virus. The page includes information about priority action areas, events, information about the group’s support to countries in the Americas, and more.
A Coronavirus Impact Dashboard also presents data related to traffic congestion, public transport, human mobility, and air quality in Latin American countries.
Learn more
University of Miami
The University of Miami’s COVID-19 Policy Observatory for Latin America presents state-level and national data from Mexico and Brazil that showcases public health policies implemented by both governments to encourage physical distancing, reduce population mobility, inform and educate. This platform also presents data of the registered movement of each population group compared to pre-pandemic patterns.
New data will soon be incorporated from Peru and Colombia.
Visit the observatory
UN Habitat
In their effort to collaborate with and support national and local authorities, UN-Habitat developed this index, which showcases a compilation of the most current data on cities and allows users to compare city data and over time.
Some of the city data includes cases, lives lost, impact, and scores for readiness, and responsiveness.
Visit the index
SISCOVID
El proyecto SISCOVID generó esta herramienta con información actualizada para que los tomadores de decisiones puedan evaluar escenarios de mitigación y control de la epidemia del COVID-19. En la iniciativa, financiada por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación de Colombia, participan miembros de SALURBAL en la Universidad de los Andes.
El tablero interactivo presenta datos de Barranquilla, Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena y Medellín.
Ver el tablero
Follow LAC-Urban Health member analysis on the pandemic and Latin American cities, nutrition, health equity, and more on our SALURBlog.