A Marathon, Not a Sprint: Peru Needs Fiscal Reforms to Quell High COVID-19 Death Rate

Intercultural bilingual school at Andahuaylas province, Peru. Photo courtesy Sergio Chaparro Hernández (CESR) By Laura Adriaensens and Sergio Chaparro HernándezANTWERP, Belgium / BOGOTA, Colombia, Sep 11 2020 (IPS) “It’s a major paradox, no?” asks Hugo Ñopo, a researcher at the Peruvian think tank Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE). Since the beginning of the pandemic, Peru has presented itself as an example for the region: it quickly implemented drastic prevention measures, followed scientific recommendations and prepared an economic support plan for the most vulnerable segments of the population. Nevertheless, the country has become a hotspot for cases of Covid-19, which has led to desperate situations in many cities and regions. Peru has confirmed 28,000 deaths and more than 600,000 infections from Covid-19 by the end of August. With these numbers, the country has the largest number of registered deaths per million residents in the entire world. Furthermore, according to other data, the official numbers might even understate the true extent of the pandemic. “Peru had an early start, but getting into the game first is no guarantee for success,” states Ñopo. “You have to run the race, and this is a marathon.” The metaphor of a marathon is a good starting point to understand why Peru has had such difficulty addressing the current public health crisis, despite the efforts made by its government. Behind a facade of economic success, the country is...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Development & Aid Editors' Choice Featured Global Headlines Health Human Rights IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Latin America & the Caribbean Population Poverty & SDGs Source Type: news