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#239 Infectious Diseases and Social Inequality in Latin America: From Hemispheric Insecurity to Global Cooperation

By Charles L. Briggs and Paul Farmer, MD, PhD

Table of Contents

Lessons in the Time of Cholera
Charles L. Briggs
Department of Ethnic Studies University of California, San Diego

Hidden Epidemics of Tuberculosis
Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D.
Program in Infectious Disease and Social Change, Harvard Medical School

Rapporteur’s Report: May 1, 1998 Conference
Catherine A. Christen

From the Preface

On May 1, 1998, the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program organized a day-long conference, bringing together social scientists, public health experts, and specialists on development, political economy, and public policy to help formulate new ways of approaching connections between social inequality and infectious diseases in Latin America. The goal of the discussion was to place the question of new and newly emergent infectious diseases in Latin America in a broader context and to increase awareness of the scope of the problem, including its global roots and implications, in academic, policy, and public spheres. Panelists discussed questions such as the following: In what different ways are epidemics of cholera, MDR tuberculosis, and other infectious disease tied to poverty and social inequality? How are recent political and economic transformations related to the rise of these epidemics? How have international diplomatic and economic relations both shaped and been affected by national responses to the epidemics? What sorts of policies in political, economic, and health arenas could be adopted in the United States and Europe in order to strengthen the ability of Latin American nations to eradicate endemic and epidemic conditions? In addition to the high level of engagement of the distinguished panelists, the discussion was greatly enriched by the active participation of audience members drawn from a range of fields and institutions. Both the formal presentations and the following discussion are reported in the summary written by Catherine A. Christen.

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Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.  Read more