The question is how to reconcile the need for health care reform with little fiscal space and high levels of debt in Latin America. We talk about the old quarrel between health and money. In case Latin America commits to development, average lifespan should be 10 years longer, average boy should be 7 centimeters taller, cancer survival should triple, mortality from heart attack should be cut in half, and maternal and infant mortality should be history. To achieve these lofty ideals we need another economy, impossible to get without healthy people. So we need a new health-care system.
Mobility is a constantly evolving field. Until today, the success of Global Cities around the world was highly dependent on the efficiency of their infrastructures, as well as on their ability to maintain them. However, over the last two years, the coronavirus pandemic seized control of our lives, leading to substantial social and economic changes.
When cities reopened following months of lockdowns, they were no longer the same; or perhaps their citizens were different. Restaurants, bars, and clubs flooded outdoors, invading sidewalks and even streets or parking spaces at times. Outdoor activities increased exponentially while parks were filled with all sorts of events: yoga classes, political meetings, and actual outdoor education. Similar phenomena have occurred, at different times and in different ways, in almost every city across Europe and the world.
La battaglia infinita
“Abbiamo vinto a Wuhan, vinceremo anche a Shanghai”. Questo il messaggio del presidente cinese Xi Jinping, che ha così ribadito il suo impegno nella strategia “zero Covid”. C’è una logica alla base di questa scelta: la fragilità del sistema sanitario cinese e il ridotto numero di infezioni pre-Omicron potrebbero generare la tempesta perfetta, con ospedali pieni e un’economia che rallenta.
Legge dei piccoli numeri
Lockdown totali o parziali per 180 milioni di abitanti di 27 città cinesi. Tra queste Pechino, dove i casi di Omicron sono in crescita, e ammontano ora a 150: tanto basta secondo le autorità per chiudere interi quartieri della città e obbligare i suoi 21 milioni di residenti a sottoporsi a tamponi quasi giornalieri.
