Health vulnerability in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2008-2010

The health vulnerability offers the possibility of detecting the critical areas from a health and epidemiological perspective and the population at risk they involve, constituting a study that is part of the analysis and identification of vulnerable areas and population at risk, in the context of the theory and methodology of the health geography. The results also have particular application in the territory because they can be used as the basis of some orderings in health. (Ramirez, L. 2007)
The objetive of this paper is to analyze the health situation of Latin America and the Latin Caribbean through the development of a Health Vulnerability Index, which allows comparison of the region’s countries, for the period 2008-2010. Also to compare the obtained data on health vulnerability with data about sanitation and access to health services of the region under study, for the same time period. Finally we compare the data obtained through this Health Vulnerability Index with those obtained by applying the health vulnerability criteria used in the Sixth Report on Vulnerability Analysis in Health in Europe and Eurasia 2010, conducted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in order to assess the tools built.