Health at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2020

Health at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2020 presents key indicators on health and health systems in 33 Latin America and the Caribbean countries. This first Health at a Glance publication to cover the Latin America and the Caribbean region was prepared jointly by OECD and the World Bank. Analysis is based on the latest comparable data across almost 100 indicators including equity, health status, determinants of health, health care resources and utilisation, health expenditure and financing, and quality of care. The editorial discusses the main challenges for the region brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as managing the outbreak as well as mobilising adequate resources and using them efficiently to ensure an effective response to the epidemic. An initial chapter summarises the comparative performance of countries before the crisis, followed by a special chapter about addressing wasteful health spending that is either ineffective or does not lead to improvement in health outcomes so that to direct saved resources where they are urgently needed.
Also available in: Spanish
Pregnancy and birth
The health of both mothers and their babies benefit from antenatal care, delivery attended by skilled health professionals and access to health facilities for delivery as they reduce the risk of birth complications and infections (see indicators “Reproductive health”, “Preterm births and low birthweight” and “Infant and young child feeding” in Chapter 4) (Measure Evaluation, 2019[13]). The Sustainable Development Goal 3.7 aims to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs by 2030.
Also available in: Spanish