Sibling mortality burden in low-income countries: A descriptive analysis of sibling death in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean

This article describes the main models for embedding research and the successful experiences and challenges faced in joint work by researchers and decisionmakers who participated in the Embedding Research for the Sustainable Development Goals (ER-SDG) initiative, and the experience of the Technical Support Center. In June 2018, funding was granted to 13 pre-selected research projects from 11 middle- and low-income countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Paraguay, and Peru). The projects focused on the system-, policy-, or program-level changes required to improve health and build on the joint work of researchers and decisionmakers, with a view to bringing together evidence production and decision-making in health systems and services. The Technical Support Center supported and guided the production of quality results useful for decision-making. This experience confirmed the value of initiatives such as ER-SDG in consolidating bridges between research on the implementation of health policies, programs, and systems, and the officials responsible for operating health-related programs, services, and interventions. It highlighted the importance of both respecting and taking advantage of each context—and the specific arrangements and patterns in the relationships between researchers and decisionmakers—through incentives for embedded research.

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Developing obstetric medicine training in Latin America

Obstetric Medicine ◽

10.1177/1753495x16684708 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 16-20 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

José Rojas-Suarez ◽

Niza Suarez ◽

Oier Ateka-Barrutia

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Maternal Mortality ◽

Latin American ◽

Low Income ◽

Morbidity And Mortality ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Important Indicator ◽

Obstetric Medicine ◽

The Impact ◽

In Pregnancy

Maternal mortality is an important indicator of health in populations around the world. The distribution of maternal mortality ratio globally shows that middle- and low-income countries have ∼99% of the mortality burden. Most countries of Latin America are considered to be middle- or low-income countries, as well as areas of major inequities among the different social classes. Medical problems in pregnancy remain an important cause of morbidity and mortality in this region. Previous data indicate the need for a call to action for adequate diagnosis and care of medical diseases in obstetric care. The impact of nonobstetric and medical pathologies on maternal mortality in Latin America is largely unknown. In Latin America, two educational initiatives have been proposed to improve skills in maternity care. The Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO®) was first started to address obstetric emergencies, and subsequently adapted for low-middle-income country settings as the Global ALSO®. In parallel, the Latin American obstetric anesthesia community has progressively focused on improvement of several intrapartum/intraoperative issues, which has secondarily taken them to embrace the obstetric medicine area on interest and join the former initiatives. In the present review, we summarize the available data regarding medical morbidity and mortality in pregnancy in Latin America, as well as the challenges, achievements, issues, initiatives, and future directions encouraging maternal health educators, health care trainers, and physicians in middle- and low-income countries, such as many Latin American ones, to improve and/or change attitudes, if needed, on current clinical practice.

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Do Trade and Investment Agreements Promote Foreign Direct Investment within Latin America? Evidence from a Structural Gravity Model

Mathematics ◽

10.3390/math8111882 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (11) ◽

pp. 1882

Author(s):

Marta Bengoa ◽

Blanca Sanchez-Robles ◽

Yochanan Shachmurove

Keyword(s):

Foreign Direct Investment ◽

Latin America ◽

Gravity Model ◽

Latin American ◽

Low Income ◽

Direct Investment ◽

Trade Agreement ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Regional Trade ◽

Investment Protection

Latin America has experienced a surge in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the last two decades, in parallel with the ratification of major regional trade agreements (RTAs) and bilateral investment treaties (BITs). This paper uses the latest developments in the structural gravity model theory to study if the co-existence of BITs and two major regional agreements, Mercosur and the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), exerts enhancing or overlapping effects on FDI for eleven countries in Latin America over the period 1995–2018. The study is novel as it accounts for variations in the degree of investment protection across BITs within Latin America by computing a quality index of BITs. It also explores the nature of interactions (enhancing/overlapping effects) between RTAs and BITs. The findings reveal that belonging to a well-established regional trade agreement, such as Mercosur, is significantly more effective than BITs in fostering intra-regional FDI. Phasing-in effects are large and significant and there is evidence of enhancing effects. Results within the bloc are heterogeneous: BITs exert a positive, but small effect, for middle income countries. However, BITs are not effective in attracting FDI in the case of middle to low income countries, unless these countries ratify BITs with a high degree of investment protection.

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US election could affect remittances to Latin America

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db213876 ◽

2016 ◽

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Latin America ◽

Low Income ◽

Positive Impact ◽

The United States ◽

Content Type ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Low Income Families

Subject Growing remittances to Latin America. Significance Family remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have been growing strongly in a year when immigration has become a central and controversial election issue in the United States. Impacts Strong remittance growth will have a positive impact on millions of low-income families in the region. A Trump presidency could lead to reduced LAC-US migration and a tax on remittances, probably slowing growth in 2017-18. LAC migrants and their families are set to benefit further from an expected continuing fall in sending costs.

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The Dynamics of Foreign Aid Trends and Patterns Among Low- Income Countries in Africa

Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia ◽

10.2478/foli-2020-0056 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 403-422

Author(s):

Mamo G. Tefera ◽

Nicholas M. Odhiambo

Keyword(s):

Foreign Aid ◽

Low Income ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Main Question ◽

Full Account ◽

Bilateral Aid ◽

Analysis Technique ◽

The Social ◽

Aid Dependency

Abstract Research background: Foreign aid flows to Africa mostly the Low-Income Countries (LICs) have increased drastically since 2000. Increasing aid flows are expected to stimulate economic growth that can release resources towards enabling LICs to reduce aid dependency. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to discuss the dynamics of bilateral aid trends and patterns among 27 LICs in Africa during 2000–2017. The main question this study tries to answer is: how have aid sources, compositions and dependency changed in LICs? Research methodology: The study employs a descriptive analysis technique to analyses bilateral aid flows to LICs in Africa from 50 donors during 2000–2017. Results: Total net aid flows to LICs increased by 1.5 times during 2000–2017 and were predominantly in the form of grants (92.7%). The study found a shift of sectoral aid allocations from the economic and productive sectors towards the social sector. Net aid as a share of GDP increased almost two-fold; implying an increasing trend of aid dependency in several LICs. Novelty: This study tries to present a full account of bilateral aid flows both from Traditional Donors (TDs) and Non-Traditional Donors (NTDs), unlike many earlier studies that have focused on TDs.

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Yes, we can use it: a formal test on the accuracy of low-pass nanopore long-read sequencing for mitophylogenomics and barcoding research using the Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus

BMC Genomics ◽

10.1186/s12864-020-07292-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

J. Antonio Baeza

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Fishery Management ◽

De Novo ◽

Spiny Lobster ◽

Population Connectivity ◽

Panulirus Argus ◽

Low Income Countries ◽

Caribbean Region ◽

Long Read ◽

The Caribbean

Abstract Background Whole mitogenomes or short fragments (i.e., 300–700 bp of the cox1 gene) are the markers of choice for revealing within- and among-species genealogies. Protocols for sequencing and assembling mitogenomes include ‘primer walking’ or ‘long PCR’ followed by Sanger sequencing or Illumina short-read low-coverage whole genome (LC-WGS) sequencing with or without prior enrichment of mitochondrial DNA. The aforementioned strategies assemble complete and accurate mitochondrial genomes but are time consuming and/or expensive. In this study, I first tested whether mitogenomes can be sequenced from long-read nanopore sequencing data exclusively. Second, I explored the accuracy of the long-read assembled genomes by comparing them to a ‘gold’ standard reference mitogenome retrieved from the same individual using Illumina sequencing. Third and lastly, I tested if the long-read assemblies are useful for mitophylogenomics and barcoding research. To accomplish these goals, I used the Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus, an ecologically relevant species in shallow water coral reefs and target of the most lucrative fishery in the greater Caribbean region. Results LC-WGS using a MinION ONT device and various de-novo and reference-based assembly pipelines retrieved a complete and highly accurate mitogenome for the Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus. Discordance between each of the long-read assemblies and the reference mitogenome was mostly due to indels at the flanks of homopolymer regions. Although not ‘perfect’, phylogenetic analyses using entire mitogenomes or a fragment of the cox1 gene demonstrated that mitogenomes assembled using long reads reliably identify the sequenced specimen as belonging to P. argus and distinguish it from other related species in the same genus, family, and superorder. Conclusions This study serves as a proof-of-concept for the future implementation of in-situ surveillance protocols using the MinION to detect mislabeling in P. argus across its supply chain. Mislabeling detection will improve fishery management in this overexploited lobster. This study will additionally aid in decreasing costs for exploring meta-population connectivity in the Caribbean spiny lobster and will aid with the transfer of genomics technology to low-income countries.

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The Role of Active Transport Modes in Enhancing the Mobility of Low-Income People in Latin America and the Caribbean

10.18235/0003216 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

María Eugenia Rivas ◽

Tomás Serebrisky

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Active Transport ◽

Low Income ◽

Public Transport ◽

Urban Transport ◽

Transport Systems ◽

Income Groups ◽

Low Income Groups ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Transport Modes

Active transport modes play a key role in developing sustainable transport systems by making cities accessible, safe, inclusive, and green. In Latin America and the Caribbean, walking and cycling represent a large share of total trips, especially for low-income groups. But for them, the decision to travel by using active transport modes, especially walking, is not based on sustainability but affordability. Income disparities in the region are also reflected in pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, with poor neighborhoods lacking infrastructure of sufficient quality or size. Despite some successful experiences in the region, there is a lack of integration between transport modes, particularly public transport and cycling, which is crucial for improving the accessibility of low-income people, who usually live in peripheral areas, face long commutes, and require connecting infrastructure and services. The region has the opportunity to improve low-income groups access to livelihood opportunities and key services by developing infrastructure supporting nonmotorized transport, increasing citizen participation in planning, improving planning and regulation, and integrating active transport modes in urban transport systems, especially public transport.

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Migration, Migrants, and Health in Latin America and the Caribbean

10.1093/acrefore/9780190632366.013.323 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Deisy Ventura ◽

Jameson Martins da Silva ◽

Leticia Calderón ◽

Itzel Eguiluz

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Latin America ◽

Low Income ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Developed Countries ◽

The United States ◽

World Health ◽

Mexico Border ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Health Organization

The World Health Organization has recognized health as a right of migrants and refugees, who are entitled to responsive healthcare policies, due to their particular social determinants of health. Migrants’ and refugees’ health is not only related to transmissible diseases but also to mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes. Historically, however, migration has been linked to the spread of diseases and has often artificially served as a scapegoat to local shortcomings, feeding on the xenophobic rhetoric of extremist groups and political leaders. This approach fosters the criminalization of migrants, which has led to unacceptable violations of human rights, as demonstrated by the massive incarceration and deportation policies in developed countries, for example, the United States under the Trump administration. In Latin America and the Caribbean, in particular, there have been legal developments, such as pioneering national legislation in Argentina in 2004 and Brazil in 2017, which suggest some progress in the direction of human rights, although in practice drawbacks abound in the form of countless barriers for migrants to access and benefit from healthcare services in the context of political turmoil and severe socioeconomic inequality. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and enhanced the effects of such inequality in the already frail health conditions of the most disenfranchised, including low-income migrants and refugees; it has both caused governments in Latin America to handle the crisis in a fragmented and unilateral fashion, ignoring opportunities to cooperate and shield the livelihoods of the most vulnerable, and served as a pretext to sharpen the restrictions to cross-border movement and, ultimately, undermine the obligation to protect the dignity of migrants, as the cases of Venezuela and the U.S.-Mexico border illustrate. Still, it could represent an opportunity to integrate the health of migrants to the public health agenda as well as restore cooperation mechanisms building on previous experiences and the existing framework of human rights organizations.

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POVERTY AND INEQUALITY IN LATIN AMERICA

EKONOMIKA I UPRAVLENIE: PROBLEMY, RESHENIYA ◽

10.36871/ek.up.p.r.2021.05.04.019 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (5) ◽

pp. 152-164

Author(s):

A. R. KELEKHSAEVA ◽

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Latin American ◽

Low Income ◽

Poverty Reduction ◽

Well Being ◽

Social Policies ◽

Poverty And Inequality ◽

The Caribbean ◽

The Impact

The article examines poverty and inequality as serious long-term and widespread problems in society. Research on poverty has been mainly conducted from the perspective of economics, now the focus has shifted to psychological aspects with an emphasis on the causes and consequences of poverty. The overall economic disaster that COVID-19 will leave in Latin America and the Caribbean remains to be seen, but its impact on social well-being portends a bleak future. After seven years of slow growth, the region's GDP fell 5,3%, the largest drop in a century. According to a joint report submitted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the impact of the pandemic could plunge an additional 16 million people into extreme poverty in 2020, resulting in 83,4 million Hispanics will live in complete poverty. These organizations warn that hunger will be the biggest problem facing the region, where 53,7 million people are already surviving severely food insecure. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between poverty and inequality as economic categories in the context of their impact on the countries of Latin America. To do this, the authors examined the key factors affecting poverty and inequality, analyzed trends in poverty and inequality in Latin America and the Latin Basin. The article is based on research on poverty and inequality in macroeconomic theory. In particular, the works of Y. Amiel, F. Cowell, T. Buhard, P. Wizard, the study of socio-economic inequality and the fight against poverty – G. Babeuf, I. Bentham, J. M. Keynes, V. Paret, G. Spencer, L. Erhard, K. Arrow, D. Rocardo, A. Pigou and many others are devoted to the problem of inequality. Significant results of studies of poverty and welfare are given in the works of prominent foreign researchers: P. Townsend, A. Sen, D. Sachs, M. Orshan-sky, T. Marshall, F. Hayek, thanks to which the system of ideas about poverty was formed. The importance of poverty and its impact on government discourses, policies and programs has fueled much research on a Latin American scale. Publications on this topic have been rolled out over the past three decades and have created a veritable battlefield. Poverty reduction is a key development challenge facing Latin America and the Caribbean. Inequality is one of the historical problems in Latin America, one of the factors that most paralyzes the eco-nomic and social aspirations of most countries in the region. Poverty reduction can be understood in both a limited and a broad sense. The first involves a focus on programs and projects that target the poor – vocational training programs for low-income people, food stamps, productivity projects in the informal sector, and care for mothers and children in communities that do not have access to this service, etc. These programs are usually funded from so-called emergency funds and social investments, although they may also be specialized activities of the minis-tries or secretariats that make up the “social sector”. On the other hand, the broader definition of poverty reduction includes economic policies and traditional social policies (especially education and health). One of the main ways to solve this problem in the medium and long term obliges countries to move towards a universal basic income, giving priority to families with children and adolescents, and to maintain universal, comprehensive and sustainable social protection systems, increase their coverage as a central component of the new welfare state. A broad and lasting consensus and political commitment are required to make significant improvements in education, health and well-being. Unfortunately, some Latin American coun-tries have serious governance problems that hinder the effective functioning of democratic systems due to fragmentation and lack of policy consensus. For this reason, stability and continuity of economic and social policies are an indispensable element for the development of nations and the progress of peoples.

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