RETRACTED ARTICLE: Globalization and vulnerable populations in times of a pandemic: A Mayan perspective
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COMMENTARY
Open Access
Globalization and vulnerable populations in times of a pandemic: A Mayan perspective Claudia Ruiz Sotomayor1*
and Alejandra Barrero2
Abstract Global health conditions are marked by inequities due mostly to poverty and lack of access to healthcare services. In a Pandemic setting, Mayan Communities in the Quintana Roo State in Mexico are a good example of how these disparities are exacerbated. First, they may have difficulty in adhering to directives to stay home from work because of the nature of their job, and the necessity to work, their living conditions are marked by crowding and sometimes lack of basic sanitation. Other susceptibilities generally considered are the underlying host factors and medical conditions that may increase the risk of disease or of complications of disease. In general, our native communities experience a high degree of socio-economic marginalization and are at disproportionate risk in public health emergencies, becoming even more vulnerable during this global pandemic, owing to factors such as their lack of access to effective monitoring and early-warning systems, and adequate health and social services.
Introduction Globalization brings to the table free flow of trade, investments, and profits across nations with the hope of improving global integration that eventually will produce the best economic, social, and political outcomes for humanity. From a public health perspective, globalization has improved health and life expectancy in many populations, but unfortunately, it has endangered many others due to the erosion of the environment, the global division of labor, the exacerbation of the rich-poor gap between and within countries, and the accelerating spread of consumerism [1]. As a result, global health conditions are marked by inequities due mostly to poverty and lack of access to healthcare services. In a Pandemic setting, these disparities are exacerbated. Literature from the influenza pandemic show that there are several causes for such event [2, 3]. First, low-income and minority workers may have difficulty in adhering to directives to stay home from work because of the nature of their job, and the * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
necessity to work [4], their living conditions are marked by crowding and sometimes lack of basic sanitation [5]. Other susceptibilities generally considered are the underlying host factors and medical conditions that may increase the risk of disease or of complications of disease. Our native communities experience a high degree of socio-economic marginalization and are at disproportionate risk in public health emergencies, becoming even more vulnerable during this global pandemic, owing to factors such as their lack of access to effective monitoring and early-warning systems, and adequate health and social services [2].
The Mayan experience A good example of ho
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