Health in the Americas 2022: Overview of the Region of the Americas in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

The Region of the Americas is one of the most affected by COVID-19. More than 175 770 000 cases of the disease were recorded between the beginning of the pandemic and 31 August 2022. The pandemic has also highlighted the challenges faced by the Region's health systems in ensuring universal access to health and universal health coverage and has slowed progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Among other devastating consequences, life expectancy in 2021 fell to levels comparable to those of 2004; since 2020, the number of vaccines administered to children has fallen dramatically; the prevalence of depression has increased by 27.6%, and anxiety by 25.7%, relative to pre-pandemic levels; and the targets for tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria have suffered major setbacks on the road to achieving SDG 3. The Region, like the rest of the world, is facing not only a public health crisis but also an economic and social crisis that has especially affected populations in conditions of vulnerability, such as older people, lower-income groups, ethnic groups, migrants, and homeless people. This publication by the Pan American Health Organization presents an overview of the impact of COVID-19 in the Region and offers a forward-looking vision to build resilient and sustainable health systems and ensure universal health as a tool to address current and future public health emergencies.