Objective

To describe cervical cancer (CC) prevention and control strategies in the primary care setting in South America.

Method

Two review steps were performed: review of documents published in governmental websites in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela; and systematic review of the literature available in LILACS, MEDLINE, Scopus, SciELO, and Science Direct databases.

Objective

To characterize the epidemiological and clinical profile of individuals more likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2 after the fully vaccination schedule in order to profile priority groups to receive a booster dose in situations of vaccine doses shortage as well as for maintenance of personal protective care.

Objective

To identify nationwide temporal trends and spatial patterns of gastric cancer–related mortality in Brazil.

Methods

An ecological study was performed using death certificates registered from 2000 to 2019 in which gastric cancer was recorded as any cause of death (an underlying or associated cause). Trends over time were assessed using joinpoint regression models. Spatial and spatiotemporal clusters were identified by Kulldorff’s space–time scan statistics to identify high-risk areas.

Objectives

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries have made important progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets related to health (SDG3) at the national level. However, vast within-country health inequalities remain. We present a baseline of health inequalities in the region, against which progress towards the SDGs can be monitored.

Setting

We studied 21 countries in LAC using data from Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey carried out from 2011 to 2016.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps and weaknesses in health care systems worldwide, but it has also highlighted countries’ capacity to respond and provided valuable lessons for the future. The pandemic has highlighted the need for countries to work together on scientific evidence production and vaccine development and elucidated the commonality of pandemic-related challenges, such as personal protective equipment unavailability and supply chain disruptions.

[Extract] Latin America emerged as one of the epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 2022, the region, representing only 8.4% of the world’s population, had more than 65 million confirmed cases, or 15% of cases worldwide, and more than 1.6 million deaths, or 28% of deaths worldwide. Latin America’s gross national product contractions resulting from the pandemic are estimated to be between 7% and 10%; these contractions have increased unemployment and poverty and exacerbated income inequality.

[Extract] Over the past two years the world and its different regions, including Latin America, have been suffering from the enormous burden and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (2) (SARS-CoV-2).

[Extract] Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have made great efforts over recent decades to increase effective coverage of health services over recent decades, although large inequities persist among and within the countries. The urban–rural gap is the most notable inequity in this region. However, unlike most of the public health problems that are predominant in LAC, COVID-19 has primarily affected urban areas, especially areas of concentrated poverty.

The COVID-19 pandemic struck the world in 2020 and was particularly harsh in Latin America, where a combination of social disparities and vulnerabilities led to unprecedented health and economic crises.1 One remarkable impact is the exceedingly high death toll in the region, especially given the “excess mortality rate,” which is probably the measure that best reflects the total numbers of direct and indirect deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.(2,3)

Before COVID-19 reached Colombia and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the pandemic, in Antioquia we were already strengthening our capacity to face it. Seeing the experiences in other countries, we took this threat seriously from the onset.