Speakers:

• Amado Alejandro Báez, Executive Director of the Presidential Committee for COVID-19 Response and Public Health Advisor to the president of the Dominican Republic
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas

The Dominican Republic's executive director of the Presidential Committee for COVID-19 response and public health advisor to the president spoke with Eric Farnsworth about the Caribbean response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Báez discussed how, from the beginning of the country's response to the public health crisis, the special task force he leads focused on building public-private partnerships to strengthen ties between healthcare entities, businesses, food distributors, philanthropies, technology, and even funeral services. He also spoke of the efforts towards chronic disease management and freeing up the healthcare system via measures such as preventative medicine distribution.

Another key point Báez made was the importance of working at the local level in these public-private partnerships, reinforcing the effectiveness of of a "bottom-up approach." The public health expert emphasized looking "beyond the now, bearing in mind we will have a second wave." He also covered the challenge between finding public health solutions amid economic solutions, saying "there is a trade-off, as an absolute health orientation will affect the economy, and not favorably...Ultimately, we need to intelligently understand what segments can be opened, whether based on productivity, expansion of essential services, safety, etcetera."

Speakers:

• Manuela Bolívar, Deputy from the State of Miranda, National Assembly of Venezuela 
• Julio Castro, COVID-19 Technical Expert Commission, Interim Government of Venezuela (download his presentation)
• Carrie Filipetti, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cuba and Venezuela, Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• David Smolansky, Coordinator, Working Group on the Crisis of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees, Organization of American States 
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Council of the Americas (moderator)

“What does it mean to fight a pandemic while under a narco-state? That’s what Venezuela is facing.” This was how OAS’ David Smolansky defined the current situation in Venezuela on an AS/COA virtual Webex panel with other experts to discuss the conditions in the country to fight the novel coronavirus. Legislator Manuela Bolívar said that 80 percent of the population of Venezuela does not have access to clean water, while U.S. diplomat Carrie Filipetti noted that there have been “carve-outs” in place in U.S. sanctions against the country that allow for humanitarian and aid efforts. When asked if the U.S. government would be willing to work with Nicolás Maduro to mitigate COVID-19, she said the State Department would have to first determine humanitarian aid is being distributed fairly. Julio Castro gave a statistical panoramoa, pointing out that Venezuela’s health crisis started a decade ago.

Speakers:

• Nelson Arboleda, Director of the Office of the Americas, Office of the Secretary at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• ​Jarbas Barbosa, Assistant Director of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization
• Ines Bustillo, Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Washington Office
• Amparo Elena Gordillo-Tobar, Senior Health Economist, The World Bank Group and Coordinator, World Bank’s COVID-19 response for Latin America and the Caribbean
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Council of the Americas (moderator)

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, experts gathered (sans audience) at the Council of the Americas offices in Washington, DC to discuss the impact of the coronavirus in Latin America and the Caribbean. PAHO/WHO’s Jarbas Barbosa noted that, although the virus has spread to 19 countries in just two weeks, the region hasn't seen widespread community transmissions yet as all cases are from travelers from abroad. Nelson Arboleda of HHS said the United States is offering bilateral technical assistance to regional health ministries and is looking at the possibility of utilizing tools like WhatsApp to share public health information and evaluating promising initiatives with the private sector to promptly share messages in Spanish and Portuguese. The World Bank's Amparo Elena Gordillo-Tobar said that about one third of the economic losses from the coronavirus will come from loss of life and workplace closures, while the remaining losses will come from economic uncertainty. 

It’s too early to assess and understand the complete impact of pandemic on the world economy because we don’t know the duration of the pandemic, said Ines Bustillo of ECLAC, adding that COVID-19 is different because it’s both a supply and a demand shock. Bustillo explained that countries that have already been applying fiscal restrictions now face a dilemma with their macroeconomic policy to deal with their response to the virus, which is causing currency devaluations throughout the region. 

Asked by moderator Eric Farnsworth for final recommendations for regional governments, panelists said to create partnerships, protect health workers, look for long-term sustainable solutions, “flatten the curve,” and look out for the most vulnerable.