The lockdown for such a long period of time has already begun to negatively impact our region’s children. A survey by the Colombian Institute of Neurosciences found that in Colombia, 88% of children have signs that indicate that their mental health and behavior have been negatively affected by the lockdown, and 42% show signs related to the development of academic skills .
It is no news that we are all looking forward to the COVID-19 vaccine. But to believe that finding one – or several – vaccines will be the panacea and immediately end the pandemic is a mistake. Three fundamental questions explain why the vaccine does not provide an immediate solution. The first and most obvious, the date: when will the vaccine be ready? The second question is the access: how will the community have access to the vaccine? The third question, just as important, is the cost: once ready, what will the price be?
COVID-19 has upended health systems globally, with uncertain implications for the future of healthcare and beyond. What is certain, however, is that all healthcare systems undoubtedly face a “new normal” in their journey to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) and become more resilient to future stresses.
Against a backdrop of almost 13 million cases of COVID-19, an urgent global priority must be the mental health of children, who make up 42% of our world’s population. Children have witnessed the devastating rates of infection and death, restrictions on their day to day life, and preoccupation of their parents and communities about the implications of the pandemic. So while children are relatively unaffected by the virus directly, its psychological impact cannot be underestimated.
Global education and training expenditure is a more than 6 trillion industry. Estimates say that education expenditure will grow to $10T by 2030, making it one of the fastest-growing sectors. Compared to other industries, EdTech represents a very small portion of the global education market: less than 3% is digital spend (HolonIQ), which means there is still a lot of room for growth in the coming years.
In many countries, large-scale initiatives are under way to pay tribute and thank health personnel for their heroic work in the diagnosis, care, and follow-up of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Entry by Marcelo Pérez-Alfaro, Pablo Zoido y Gonzalo Muñoz.
Faced with the arrival of the coronavirus in their territories, indigenous peoples are in a high vulnerability for several reasons, including higher levels of poverty, lack of access to essential services, higher prevalence of chronic diseases, and various cultural barriers, including language.
Investments in education across countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have transformed the lives of millions of girls and the prospects of their families and societies. Unleashing the full economic potential of women is nevertheless still a curtailed issue in the region: just about half of women are unable to participate in paid work. The majority of the population out of the labor market is women between the ages of 24 and 45. This is the largest share of the available pool of unused human capital countries have, and where mothers of young children are concentrated.
Tara García Mathewson is a staff writer at The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Her work has focused on education, immigration, public housing, and community news. She is also a special guest in our blog series about the development of #skills21 in Latin America and the Caribbean.