Long-standing corruption cripples vaccine campaigns in Latin America
Patients with less severe COVID-19 cases in Paraguay are treated on May 1 in the corridor of a hospital that has run out of beds. The same has occurred at many hospitals throughout Latin America. Photo: Daniel Duarte/AFP via Getty Images
Long-standing corruption in Latin America has hindered vaccination campaigns and health care responses.
The big picture: These scandals include inflated prices for unusable ventilators purchased by Bolivia, price gouging for N95 masks in Argentina, and a botched acquisition of emergency field hospitals that took over six months to be operational in Honduras.
- Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Argentina were also roiled by “Vaccine-gate”, in which politicians and their families and friends were given hush-hush early access to the first shots.
More recent uproars include the possible impeachment of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for apparent bribery for contracts to purchase two vaccines, and a murky and unfulfilled deal in Guatemala to buy millions of Sputnik V doses that were paid for but never delivered, leading to protests and calls for President Alejandro Giammattei's resignation.
Between the lines: Public hospitals were already severely underfunded, lacking equipment and medicine, when COVID-19 hit. With the pandemic, they are overwhelmed.
- Partly to blame are the enduring consequences of diverted funds, since Latin American and Caribbean nations consistently rank as some of the most corrupt in the world.