Elites can take care of themselves — Comment on Covid-19

box Political and economic forces, both internal and external to low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), have shaped the health and well-being of people across much of the Global South. Like in other regions of the world, corruption for private gain, including in health systems, has impeded the development of a welfare state and has thus cost lives in Latin America.1 It may be true that political (and we add economic) elites have the ability to receive the best possible care outside their countries, nevertheless, COVID-19 has definitely not diminished privileges locally.2 In fact, while they would previously seek high-end medical attention in the USA or Spain, today, in countries such as Ecuador, these elites might be just as catered for at home. Even in the midst of the pandemic, they are able to secure medical resources that are not available for everyone, for instance, through private health or prepaid care insurance companies offering a range of services from basic to five-star’ services, depending on the customer’s ability to pay. After the major port province, Guayas, became the first COVID-19 epicentre in Ecuador in mid-March, it was

Business · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Elite · Health care · Language change · Latin Americans · Political science · Politics · Welfare · Welfare state · Employment and Welfare Studies · Global Health Care Issues · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Law

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