From Infection to Inflation[De la Infección a la Inflación - Las Crisis Mundiales Golpean Duramente a los Hogares Pobres y Vulnerables de América Latina y el Caribe]

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have faced extraordinary challenges over the last three years that reverted the social gains of the previous two decades. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in severe health impacts and a reversal in many of its socioeconomic gains. The unprecedented disruption to education and health during the COVID-19 pandemic will leave lasting scars on human capital accumulation and the welfare of an entire LAC generation. A year after the onset of COVID-19, the region is bouncing back, yet not sufficiently fast to put the worst effects of the pandemic behind it. Despite the challenges ahead, the LAC region has the potential to overcome them in its traditional areas of comparative advantage and the opportunities arising from resilient green growth. It needs to take advantage of its comparative advantage in the green economy. The transition to the green economy can be an opportunity to improve well-being in the region by creating new quality jobs, enhancing labor incomes, and contributing to poverty reduction.