Latin America: the Covid-19 pandemic will lead to an explosion of poverty
Shops closed in a street in Sao Paulo, June 17, 2020. AFP
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Latin America is the geographic area most affected by Covid-19, with just over 14 million people infected and nearly 478,000 deaths.
From an economic and social perspective, the pandemic has taken its toll.
It has destroyed everything in the region that has been achieved during years of reform and investment.
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According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the region will experience a 7.7% drop in economic activity in 2020, its worst drop in gross domestic product (GDP) in a century.
The pandemic has forced 2.7 million companies to go out of business.
As a result, poverty explodes and unemployment increases.
According to the International Labor Organization, 47 million jobs will be lost in the region.
This would bring the unemployment rate to nearly 11%, three points higher than last year.
Faced with this situation, the World Bank is sounding the alarm.
She estimates that nearly 29 million Latin Americans could end up in extreme poverty, or 4.5% of the region's total population.
For its part, Unicef is worried about the poverty which affects millions of children.
They are three times more than last year to need humanitarian aid.
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