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COVID-19 in Mexico

COVID-19 in MexicoThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to a historic level of downfall in Mexico’s economy, causing thousands of individuals to lose their jobs. As of 2018, approximately 42% of the Mexican population lived below the poverty line; the pandemic has unfortunately strongly contributed more and more individuals to the impoverished communities in Mexico. The Mexican government did not impose a general lockdown because many citizens could not afford it. Even so, the economy was paralyzed due to most consumers locking themselves down voluntarily. Furthermore, public hospitals collapsed, resulting in people unable to receive medical attention or the private visit that could ultimately save their lives. COVID-19 in Mexico has brought to light the wealth disparity among citizens in Mexican society.

Vaccine Inequality

Vaccine inequality is prominent among those living in poverty. Vaccines are not currently reaching the rural areas of Mexico where there are thousands of people who are now geographically isolated from vaccine centers. Additionally, those who live in rural areas would require technology to stay informed about these vaccine centers, but poverty inhibits people from accessing technology and therefore the necessary education and information about vaccination.

Many citizens in Mexico did not originally believe in the severity of the novel coronavirus; face masks did not start being worn as soon as recommended. Health authorities reported not only that many people were not using face masks but also a large number of people were unable to afford one. As a result, patients who were living in extreme poverty are less likely to survive COVID-19 in Mexico. This is largely due to the fact that the impoverished are more exposed to the virus compared to those who are able to afford to quarantine and avoid exposure.

Demographics

The Mexican government is struggling to give the necessary attention to many who need it most. According to the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy, or CONEVAL, COVID-19 in Mexico caused a 63% drop in household income. The pandemic has proven that staying home is a privilege that many impoverished citizens do not have. Statistically speaking, 27% of people living in poverty contracted the novel coronavirus, while only 5% of the upper-class contracted COVID-19. This demonstrates the clear relationship between high rates of infection and socioeconomic status in Mexico.

Looking Forward

COVID-19 in Mexico has caused thousands of deaths, and the lack of infrastructure and government initiatives has caused delays in the vaccination process. However, Mexico has received more than 2.7 million COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the United States. The White House has made what is considered a positive diplomatic step forward in providing Mexico with these doses of the vaccine, and the hope is that even more vaccines will be sent by the U.S.

The NGO Direct Relief has donated 330,000 masks to help relieve the crisis. As well, Direct Relief assisted in importing the 100,000 KN95 masks donated by Academy Award-winning film director Alfonso Cuarón. Many people are benefiting from the action, and the vaccination process is slowly improving in Mexico.

COVID-19 in Mexico has demonstrated how socioeconomic status affects access to healthcare and the ability to protect oneself from the pandemic. However, vaccination has begun and donations of personal protective equipment, or PPE, are steps in the right direction for Mexico’s handling of the novel coronavirus.

– Ainara Ruano Cervantes
Photo: Flickr

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World of Warcraft’s Fight Against the Pandemic

World of Warcraft's Fight Against the PandemicThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused Activision Blizzard to host their annual gaming convention, Blizzcon, online this year in what was known as Blizzconline. At Blizzconline, Blizzard announced many updates and future releases for the company, as well as this year’s charity event in World of Warcraft. This year’s charity event will aid in World of Warcraft’s fight against the pandemic. In 2021, the popular role-playing game is partnering with Doctors Without Borders to donate to the nonprofit’s COVID-19 Crisis Fund.

Blizzard Charity Events

Since 2010, Blizzard has partnered with charities and nonprofit organizations to donate millions of dollars through player donations. In years past, Blizzard would donate 100% of proceeds made off of player purchases of in-game cosmetic items like World of Warcraft pets or Overwatch skins.

This year, Blizzard is changing the way donations are being made. Players will be allowed to donate however much they want directly to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors without Borders, and these donations will be tracked by Blizzard. After reaching preset goals, players will be rewarded with in-game pets as a reward for contributing to World of Warcraft’s fight against the pandemic.

Blizzard’s previous charity events have generally gone toward alleviating domestic issues in the U.S. This will be the first time the company partnered with an international humanitarian organization, except for its partnership with WE Charity in 2019. The WE Charity works internationally to end poverty by establishing education access and resources, providing more than one million people with access to clean food and water and empowering women to be self-sufficient.

Doctors Without Borders

Blizzard’s charity event with Doctors Without Borders will have player donations going directly to the nonprofit’s COVID-19 Crisis Fund. Doctors Without Borders is a humanitarian nonprofit organization working in more than 70 countries, providing people with medical aid and assistance. The organization has been combating malnutrition in children, treating preventable diseases and providing people with access to medical services and care since being founded in 1971.

The COVID-19 Crisis Fund has a current target of €150 million, or more than $181 million. All the funds will go directly toward Doctors Without Borders’s global response to the pandemic. For instance, the funding will be used for supplies for patients and staff and research ways to combat the virus. The goals of the COVID-19 Crisis Fund are to help stop the spread of the virus, reinforce food and water systems for at-risk populations and provide medical aid to those suffering from illness in more than 70 countries where the nonprofit works.

To reach its goal of €150 million, Doctors Without Borders will need more donations to its COVID-19 Crisis Fund. By partnering with Blizzard and the World of Warcraft, Doctors Without Borders is one step closer to reaching its goal and contributing to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, this charity partnership will help improve the current global COVID-19 response and save lives.

– Gerardo Valladares
Photo: Flickr

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Two Teens Create Video Game to Combat COVID-19

Video Game to Combat COVID-19With the COVID-19 pandemic being a new reality for people all around the world, top medical experts have advised everyone to take a series of precautionary measures to protect themselves against the disease. This includes wearing a face mask, social distancing and regular handwashing. While many have successfully adapted these recommendations into their daily routines, one group that is particularly struggling to do so are young children. However, two Pakistani teenage brothers have put forth an out-of-the-box solution and created a video game to combat COVID-19 in Pakistan.

The Creators

Brothers 14-year-old Kenan Khan and 13-year-old Nabhan Khan, created a free video game to combat COVID-19, called Stop the Spread. They began developing the idea in February 2020 and released it in April 2020 because they observed that children had trouble remembering and adapting to the guidelines that are meant to protect them against COVID-19. The tasks of the Stop the Spread game, test children on the health guidelines put forth by the World Health Organization. This includes being able to identify symptoms and the difference between facts and myths regarding COVID-19 as well as protection and prevention measures that need to be taken to protect their chosen videogame avatar from being exposed to the virus. As each video gamer completes a task, he or she accumulates points and advances to the next level. Once the video gamer completes all six levels, he or she is considered a COVID-19 warrior and is deemed knowledgeable enough to protect themselves against COVID-19. This keeps children engaged in the game as well as well-informed.

Neither of the Khan brothers has been formally educated. However, they were able to use the vast resources available online to learn design, coding, simulation and animation as well as basic literacy and mathematics. 

Combating COVID-19 Through Video Games

Other children around the world have also begun to create video games of their own. Israel Smith, a 12-year-old from Georgia, redesigned Space Impact, an old cellphone game, to combat COVID-19. In the game, each player is assigned an avatar who is tasked to identify and kill the COVID-19 viruses. Throughout the game, the avatar and the viruses use speech bubbles to inform the video gamers about facts regarding the virus as well as health guidelines.

Recent COVID-19 game developments such as these, have inspired a global campaign called #PlayApartTogether to use video games to as a means to prevent the spread of COVID-19 globally.

Videogame companies have also partnered together to spread the World Health Organization’s message by incorporating COVID-19 self-protection messages into videogames.

The Khan brothers’ video game to combat COVID-19 just goes to show that even the youngest of minds have the power to make a big impact during unprecedented times. The creation serves as an inspiration to others and provides rays of hope amid a global pandemic.

– Rida Memon
Photo: pxfuel

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How Uruguay Was Prepared to Combat COVID-19

How Uruguay Was Prepared to Combat COVID-19Uruguay is a small country in South America bordering Brazil and Argentina. The country has a population of nearly 3.5 million people and has solved many poverty issues that still plague other South American countries. Uruguay’s life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality rates, literacy rate and health system capacity are all at or near the levels of those statistics in the United States and Western Europe. The country’s situation today as a high-income country is a direct result of its unique history. Through Uruguay’s economic standing and prepared response to the pandemic, the country was prepared to combat COVID-19.

Uruguay’s History and Financial Situation

Uruguay, despite being located in South America, is more comparable to countries in Europe and not without reason. In the pre-colonial era, the entire region likely had a population of only around 10,000. Diseases brought by the first settlers in the 17th century killed most of that small population and so the area was left largely empty save for a few scattered groups of native people. After more than a century of fighting over the territory between colonial powers, Uruguay gained independence in 1830 and began to become a modern state by the 1870s.

In the late 19th century, hundreds of thousands of Europeans emigrated to Uruguay, bringing with them economic connections to the continent as well as better agricultural knowledge which kickstarted the country’s economy. Throughout the 20th century, despite some political conflicts, Uruguay made strides at becoming a developed country and brought its extreme poverty rate to the single digits. Since the early 2000s, the country has seen significant reductions in poverty and large improvements in healthcare capability and overall quality of life.

In a span of just 12 years from 2006 to 2018, the poverty rate in Uruguay decreased from more than 30% to 8%, while the extreme poverty rate went from 2.5% to 0.1%. Uruguay diversified its economy from one mostly reliant on its neighbors, Argentina and Brazil, to splitting its most important trade partners four ways, with China and the European Union becoming its two largest partners. Its success in creating a working, safe democracy in the 21st century has opened up the country as a popular tourism destination and tourism now accounts for nearly 10% of Uruguay’s GDP. Uruguay maintains the largest middle class in the Americas consisting of more than 60% of its population, fueling economic growth as most people in the country hold savings and can afford to buy consumer goods.

Uruguay’s Prepared Response to COVID-19

All of Uruguay’s recent economic success has allowed the country to create a well-functioning healthcare system capable of keeping its citizens healthy. Its history and geographical small size have led the country to be prepared to combat COVID-19. Uruguay’s health system, a mix of public and private care which also allows the lowest-income residents of the country to get high-quality care at low or zero-cost, was prepared to handle a crisis. Broad support for the government meant that at the start of the pandemic, citizens trusted their public health officials and followed the guidelines they put out.

The Uruguayan health system, unlike most others in South America, also had the capability to make its own COVID-19 PCR tests from the start of the pandemic—allowing public health officials to contact trace early cases. In May, when a region of Uruguay bordering Brazil saw a small outbreak, the public health response was immediate. As described by Dr. Rafael Radi, the coordinator of Uruguay’s scientific advisory group, “Within 24 hours there was a contingent of people—epidemiologists, nurses, physicians went to Treinta y Tres to completely follow the transmission chain, test every single person and follow up the contacts of the contacts.” Such strong measures make it difficult for the virus to gain a hold in the country.

Despite being located right next to Brazil, a COVID-19 hotspot, Uruguay was able to combat COVID-19 and reopen its internal economy quickly. Masks are required indoors and on public transport and are encouraged everywhere else. Most schools and universities in the country are open with in-person classes. To date, Uruguay has reported fewer than 3,000 cases of COVID-19 and 52 deaths. Already achieving high-income status, if Uruguay can continue its economic growth post-COVID-19 and improve its education system to train its youth for the future, the country is well on its way to being a truly developed nation on par with other small countries like Singapore and Ireland.

– Jeff Keare
Photo: Flickr