厄瓜多尔第一大城市瓜亚基尔的街道上几乎空无一人。由于新冠肺炎疫情形势不断加剧，死亡人数激增，殡仪馆和墓地早已不堪重负，人们不得不将亲人的遗体安置在大街上。 在哥伦比亚首都波哥大南部，人们戴着口罩走上街头，要求政府提供援助。受“全国隔离令”影响，他们已经身无分文。印度达拉维贫民窟居住着上百万人，这里俨然已成为该国的流行病中心。这些令人担忧的画面正在上演，而全世界的目光都聚焦在美国纽约不断攀升的死亡人数上。Residents in Ecuador's largest city of Guayaquil have to leave the bodies of their loved ones in the deserted streets, as funeral parlors and cemeteries are overwhelmed by the surge in deaths due to the novel coronavirus. People in masks are taking to the streets of southern Bogota, Colombia, to demand government aid because the national quarantine has emptied their pockets. The Dharavi slum in India, which houses a million residents, has become the country's epidemic epicenter.These worrying developments are playing out while the world is gazing at the soaring death toll in New York City, which now resembles a ghost town.新冠肺炎疫情几乎遍布全球，中低收入国家遭受的损失最为严重。医疗体系不完善、人口密度大、非正式经济规模庞大、信息传播缓慢、政府财力弱，这些因素带来的一连串磨难已经超乎人们的想象。在某种程度上，这些国家的民众所面临的情况让人联想起发达国家穷人的困境：即便能获得医疗保障，他们也只能使用最基本的医疗设施和资源，而“呆在家里”对他们来说是一件负担不起的事。As the coronavirus engulfs low- and middle-income countries, their people stand to lose the most. Inadequate healthcare systems, high population densities, a large informal economy, the slow spread of information and insufficient government finances are creating a cascade of suffering that is already beyond imagination.In some ways, what the denizens of these countries face is reminiscent of the plight of the poor in developed countries: They have access to only the most basic healthcare facilities and resources, if at all, and can't afford to stay home.Health is correlated with wealth李燡是墨西哥国立自治大学访问学者，新冠肺炎疫情在拉美爆发时，他正在墨西哥邻国危地马拉进行玛雅文化的课题研究。因精通西班牙语和玛雅语，李燡在当地一家公立医院当起了翻译志愿者，协助玛雅人沟通。李燡在接受CGTN电话采访时说：“危地马拉有大约120万玛雅人。玛雅文明自有一套医疗体系，平常小灾小病都求助萨满，通过祈福的方式治疗。但新冠病毒颠覆了这一百年传统。”当危地马拉第24例确诊病例是萨满的消息传出时，所有玛雅人都感到震惊，他们纷纷涌向公立医院，改向医生求助。李燡在不同拉美国家生活过多年，他说，危地马拉的医疗体系是典型“拉美式”的，少数公立医院全免费，条件当然也就平平，富人则自费去窗明几净的私立医院。玛雅人当然只去公立医院，当地公立医院寥寥，忽然来了这么多人，医院自然不堪重负。Li Yi, a visiting scholar at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, was living in Guatemala, researching on the Mayan civilization, when the coronavirus outbreak swept across Latin America. Proficient in both Spanish and Mayan, he volunteered to translate for Mayans at a public hospital. "Mayans, standing at 1.2 million in Guatemala, have the tradition of resorting to shamans for medical guidance instead of going to see a doctor when they get sick. But the coronavirus upended this centuries-old convention," he told CGTN during a phone interview.When they learned that the country's 24th confirmed case was a shaman, they were shocked and swarmed to public hospitals. "Limited medical resources at only a handful of public hospitals are making it difficult for the country to handle an onslaught (of new patients)," Li said.The healthcare system in Guatemala is typical of most Latin American countries. A few cost-free public hospitals are preserved for the common poor while the well-off go to bright and clean private hospitals, according to Li, who has lived in several Latin American countries over the years. 而在中东和非洲的许多国家，也有相似的情况。新华社前驻中东北非记者顾正龙表示，一个多星期以前，当也门报告首例新冠肺炎确诊病例时，他便开始担心在这片饱受战争蹂躏的土地上，将会出现一场大灾难。顾正龙告诉CGTN记者：“也门是世界上水资源最紧张的国家，也是阿拉伯世界最贫穷的国家，洗手是件奢侈的事。”只有大约50%的人能够获得水和食物，尤其是在动乱加剧了饥荒之后。顾正龙在中东工作了20多年。在谈到当地的医疗能力时，他说：“尽管（许多中东国家的民众）可以享受免费医疗，但公立医院没有好的药物或先进的设备，更别说新冠肺炎试剂盒了。此外，动员医生和护士大规模投入抗疫不太可能。”在大多数阿拉伯国家，医疗资源都集中在私立医疗设施，只有富人才能享用。That's also the case for many countries in the Middle East and Africa. When Yemen reported the first case more than a week ago, Gu Zhenglong, a former Xinhua News Agency correspondent stationed in the region, expressed concern that there would be a cataclysm hanging over this war-addled land."Yemen is the most water-stressed country in the world and the poorest nation in the Arab world, so washing hands measures up to a luxury," Gu told CGTN. Only some 50 percent of the population has access to water and food, especially after the turmoil exacerbated the famine.Gu also talked about the healthcare capacities in the Middle East after working in the region for over two decades. "Despite free healthcare (in many Middle Eastern countries), there's no good medicine or advanced equipment in public hospitals, let alone testing kits for COVID-19. Plus, it's almost impossible to mobilize doctors and nurses to treat infected patients," he noted. In most Arab countries, medical resources are concentrated in private health facilities, which are only accessible to the affluent.说到医疗，这些较贫穷国家不仅要争夺稀缺的医疗资源，还要与发达国家竞争。口罩等重要的医疗物资正源源不断地运往美国、英国和其他富裕国家，因为这些国家能够支付得起。不仅如此，美国总统特朗普还曾下令限制3M公司出口医疗物资，以满足本国需求。呼吸机在发达国家已经供不应求，在非洲和拉美国家更是如此，通常数百万人只有一台。即便进口更多呼吸机，也会出现医务人员、技术人员等资源短缺。因此，在人手、设备和床位不足的情况下，不到万不得已不会去医院。When it comes to healthcare, people in these poorer countries aren't only contending with scarce healthcare resources, but also developed nations. International manufacturers of critical medical equipment such as masks are seeing their products routed to the U.S., the UK and other wealthy countries because they can afford to pay more. Meanwhile, restrictions have been imposed on these manufacturers, such as the American company 3M, which had been ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump to curb exports and focus on Americans at home. They eventually reached a deal to continue those exports to developing countries while meeting mask production requirements for Americans.Ventilators used to provide life-saving support to critically ill patients are already in short supply in developed countries, and even more so in African and Latin American states, often having only one for millions of people. Even if more ventilators were imported, there is a shortage of medical personnel, skill and reliable power source to operate them. Going to a hospital with insufficient staff, equipment and beds are thus seen as a last resort. Get infected or go hungry?在较贫穷国家，保持社交距离是一种奢望。这些国家的人口密度大，居住区密集，政府要求的“自我隔离”很难施行。大多数人从事的是非正规行业，不出门工作就没有收入支撑日常生活，在疫情冲击下，多国爆发了抗议活动。对于资金短缺的国家来说，恢复经济常态则更为迫切。各国政府也相应制定了一些救济措施，比如，危地马拉推出了食品价格补助，哥伦比亚允许免交水电费和电话费。Social distancing measures imposed by poorer countries following the steps of wealthier regions are a tougher sell. Since many of the poor in these nations participate in wage-based labor or the informal economy, where jobs and enterprises aren't regulated or protected by the state, remote work using computers and video conference apps aren't an option.A 2018 report of the International Labor Organization shows that over 90 percent of the world's informal employment existed in emerging and developing countries.Without much savings or a social safety net, these individuals, like street vendors and taxi drivers, have to go out and earn money each day just to sustain everyday life. It is also difficult for them to follow government directives to self-isolate as they live in packed public housing or the slums of India and Brazil, some of which have population densities higher than that of New York.This pressure is pushing governments in cash-strapped countries to call for a quick return to economic normalcy. Leaders in Latin America such as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have asked that people return to work. Colombians turned to protest, chanting "we are hungry."In terms of government aid, Guatemala has rolled out food subsidies, and Colombia is offering free water, electricity and phone services. 在宏观层面上，疫情大流行引发的恐慌情绪阻碍了国际资本流入新兴经济体。富裕国家可以通过出台更多信贷和刺激方案对冲疫情影响，而这些贫困国家则缺乏福利和财政机制来帮助本国民众抵御这场疫情。国际组织已经预料到，新冠肺炎疫情将给那些缺乏应对能力的国家带来严重后果。国际货币基金组织预测，受疫情影响，拉丁美洲可能经历新一轮“失去的十年”。世界银行将在15个月内提供1600亿美元的援助资金。二十国集团成员国同意最贫穷国家到今年年末暂停偿还债务。 然而，这些措施还不够。据专家预计，在未来几个月里，中低收入国家的医疗防护设备将会吃紧，医疗系统甚至可能不堪重负。随着感染人数和死亡人数继续上升，专家建议富裕国家除了提供债务减免措施之外，还要提供一揽子援助方案。 On a macro level, panic due to the pandemic has stemmed the flow of international investment into emerging economies. Many of these developing countries are responsible for global economic growth, yet are heavily reliant on foreign investments. For BRICS countries, billions of dollars in foreign investment have stopped, and some countries heavily in debt such as Argentina and Turkey are heading toward insolvency. While the central banks and governments in wealthy nations can offer greater credit and stimulus packages, impoverished states lack the welfare and financial apparatus to help their citizens weather this pandemic.Some international organizations have anticipated how the coronavirus will have resounding consequences in nations ill-equipped to handle it. The International Monetary Fund forecasts a second "lost decade" of anemic growth in Latin America due to the virus. The World Bank has approved a program that is expected to release 160 billion U.S. dollars in the next 15 months to finance projects that would strengthen health responses and provide training and equipment to poorer regions. These grants and loans will see broad disbursement in countries from Ethiopia to Haiti. The G20, meanwhile, has agreed to a "debt standstill" that will allow the poorest countries in the world to stop making debt payments for 12 months.More needs to be done, however, since experts expect protective medical equipment and health capacities in low- and middle- income countries to be strained and possibly overwhelmed in the coming months. As COVID-19 infections and deaths in these emerging countries continue to rise, they've suggested that richer nations provide aid packages in addition to debt relief measures. But the challenge is understanding that helping the people and the institutions in poorer countries will mean stopping the pandemic sooner, preventing re-transmission to countries that have seen a "flattening curve," or at least delaying it long enough for a vaccine to be found. 推荐阅读：数观 | 新冠肺炎疫情在非洲土耳其累计确诊病例超越伊朗，以色列总理宣布放宽限制措施疫情下的印度：违反封城令罚写500遍“对不起”，5千节车厢改成隔离病房...