Epidemiological Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean

This chapter introduces the Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) region as a large and diverse geographical region, with rich social, cultural, and economic diversity, with a highly mixed population, derived mostly from Native Americans, Europeans, and sub-Saharan Africans. The region is characterized by rapid and hectic urbanization and aging processes, and stands out as the second most unequal in the world. Structural racism is a central obstacle to social development in LAC countries, with enormous health implications. Despite displaying expressive economic and social development in the last century, even though unevenly distributed across countries, the region’s social growth stagnated in 2015, and the COVID-19 pandemic worsened things, increasing inequality, poverty, and extreme poverty. Following a brief characterization, the chapter presents an overview of the region’s main health problems, encompassing infectious diseases and nutritional deficiencies, non-communicable diseases, and violence. It shows and discusses, for instance, why Latin America is regarded as the second most violent region in the world, with high rates of homicide and other forms of violence. It introduces and debates the huge and uneven public health and socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, and the pandemic’s legacies for health systems and epidemiologists. Finally, it discusses the uneven development of epidemiology in the LAC region, pointing out its specificities, milestones, scientific and academic advances, and challenges related to incorporating epidemiological research evidence into the formulation of health policies and regulatory activities.