GENEVA, Switzerland (CMC) — A World Health Organization (WHO) global report has indicated that Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries remain the region with the highest levels of inequality in the world.

It said that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic deepened this situation and that in 2020 the regional economy contracted by seven per cent, the steepest decline in 120 years, with millions of people losing income and social protection.

The WHO said that these economic shocks translate directly into higher levels of avoidable mortality and morbidity, due to deteriorating conditions of employment, for example, more than 60 per cent of workers in Latin America and the Caribbean work in the informal sector, housing and migratory processes, among others.

The report also highlights that these effects are compounded by structural racism and the enduring legacy of colonialism, which continue to exert a significant negative impact on health and life expectancy, particularly for indigenous and afro descendant populations.

The report reveals that those LAC cities that have employed a participatory approach to budget allocation for housing, green spaces and transportation have also seen positive effects on both health and social cohesion when it comes to tackling some of these social determinants.

In its report, the WHO highlights that the underlying causes of ill health often stem from factors beyond the health sector, such as lack of quality housing, education and job opportunities.

The new world report on social determinants of health equity shows that such determinants can be responsible for a dramatic reduction of healthy life expectancy,  sometimes by decades, in high- and low-income countries alike.

For example, people in the country with the lowest life expectancy will, on average, live 33 years shorter than those born in the country with the highest life expectancy. The social determinants of health equity can influence people’s health outcomes more than genetic influences or access to healthcare.

“Our world is an unequal one. Where we are born, grow, live, work, and age significantly influences our health and well-being,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“But change for the better is possible. This world report illustrates the importance of addressing the interlinked social determinants and provides evidence-based strategies and policy recommendations to help countries improve health outcomes for all.”

The report underscores that inequities in health are closely linked to degrees of social disadvantage and levels of discrimination. Health follows a social gradient whereby the more deprived the area in which people live, the lower their incomes are, and they have fewer years of education, poorer health, with fewer healthy years to live.

These inequities are exacerbated in populations that face discrimination and marginalisation. One of the vivid examples is the fact that indigenous people have lower life expectancy than non-indigenous people in high- or low-income countries alike.