KEVON FELMINE
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
While there is concern over increasing food prices, a fallout of the Russian/Ukrainian War, high freight costs may soon affect the price of medication and medical supplies.
Dr Ciro Ugarte, Director of Health Emergencies at the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), says there are already some clear indications that the air and sea freight costs are increasing daily.
Speaking at PAHO’s weekly press conference on COVID-19 in the Americas, Ugarte said shipments from Asia to the western coasts of the Americas increased two per cent in one day. He said it was now is 196 per cent higher than the corresponding period last year. Regarding the air freight costs to the East Coast of the Americas and Caribbean islands, it is 241 per cent higher than in 2021.
“These are the types of aspects that we are concerned about, not only the freight cost but the availability of certain supplies coming from that region and of course, the high demand for personal protective equipment and equipment and others, particularly in the Asia region. It may also impact our region, so some aspects are being monitored. It is probably time to consider looking at good procedures in our region. For example, look into the Revolving Fund or the strategic funds in the Americas that may support these countries when the costs are moving higher,” Ugarte said.
As Caribbean governments struggle to keep COVID-19 vaccinations apace, one reason for low coverage might be that some populations have not suffered severely.
PAHO Assistant Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa said the pandemic affected some Caribbean countries and territories differently from their Latin American counterparts.
“Firstly, some countries and territories in the Caribbean, for instance, have not been experiencing a very potent community transmission with high mortality rates, so the risk perception in some communities are lower than in other parts of the region, such as Latin America. In Latin America, almost every family has lost a member or knows a friend, a neighbour, that has lost their lives or has had a very severe disease,” Barbosa said.
The second reason was vaccine hesitancy, as some people are getting fake news and need more objective and accurate information. Thirdly, some countries and territories lack absorption capacity. PAHO is working with these countries to increase their ability to receive vaccines through the COVAX Facility and donations.
The Americas reported 901,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last week. It was a 19 per cent decrease compared to the previous week. While most of the region decreased, some Caribbean islands had an increase of 56.6 per cent. In terms of deaths, the Americas lost 50,553 people to COVID-19, an 18.4 per cent decline.
Barbosa said while new cases and deaths declined, the daily caseloads and death were still too high. He said it was a clear indication that transmission was not under control. Since the arrival of the pandemic in the region, the Americas recorded 149 million cases and 2.6 million deaths.
As cases in other parts of the world rise, Barbosa said this is a cautionary message to the region.
“Cases increase by 28.9 per cent in the Western Pacific region, by 23 per cent in the African region and almost two per cent in the European region. This virus puts us all at risk, especially the unvaccinated. That is why we must continue our efforts to close the equity gap and protect the most vulnerable with COVID-19 vaccines.”
Despite the continued inequity in vaccine distribution, Barbosa said many countries and territories were on track to reach the World Health Organisation's vaccine target of 70 per cent by June 2022. Already, eight countries and territories surpassed 80 per cent while others are not far behind. On the flip side, 21 countries and territories have not vaccinated 50 per cent of their populations. Barbosa also stressed that health authorities must continue to carry out and promote vaccination programmes for other diseases.
