The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recently published the report ‘COVID-19: WHO´s Action in Countries’. This document contains a selection of countries as case studies in which effective measures were adopted to face the pandemic. Among the countries analyzed, the WHO pointed out the Colombian experience and especially Bogotá`s strategy to strengthen its health services and its political leadership during the crisis.
In this perspective, the WHO remarked the city's prompt response to the outbreak, its enormous efforts to expand its medical capacities and Bogotá's humanitarian programs to aid the most vulnerable.
For example, the report recognizes the increase of Bogotá´s testing capacity, from 200 to 6,000 test per day. Additionally, it notices the city´s expansion of 1,200 beds for COVID-19 patients and the steady efforts to settle 2,000 beds by August. Furthermore, the aims to retrain the medical and care personnel to be able to comply with PAHO´s suggestions were praised.
In relation to the measures adopted by Mayor Claudia López, the WHO commented on the benefits of the targeted lockdowns as a way to keep more than 2 million people in their homes, as the city almost reaches the peak of the curve.
On the other hand, both organizations underlined the social and economic challenges that Colombia´s capital is currently facing due to the pandemic. In this sense, the Bogotá Solidaria en Casa (Spanish for Solidarity at home) program was distinguished. With this platform, the local government has distributed monetary aid and food vouchers to more than 577,842 households in the state of poverty and in high vulnerability. Moreover, Bogotá´s Mayor Office is encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises to apply for the economic relief plans enabled by the national government.
To sum up, the WHO´s report concludes that Mayor Claudia López has successfully applied the recommendations given by national and international experts during the contingency.
As the city gains international recognition for its results in the response to COVID-19, the local government continues monitoring the advance of contagions and reinforcing its strategy. Also, authorities perseverate in their efforts to raise awareness and understanding among citizen.
Follow this link to access the full WHO report:
