International Cooperation on Pandemics: Latin-America’s response to the H1N1 influenza outbreak.

• In Event: Existing Cooperations in Latin American: Current and Future Perspectives

Abstract

In 2009, the international community faced the H1N1 influenza outbreak. The disease first appeared in North America and quickly spread all around the world. Mexico was at the center of this event since it was the first country on notifying the outbreak. Governments along with the World Health Organization had previously developed a plan to manage and response to influenza pandemics. A core issue in all actions was to include international cooperation. However, the fear of the disease made cooperation a challenging area. This paper will analyze Latin America response to the outbreak. The central research question guiding the research is: did Latin American countries have a coordinated and coherent response? Therefore, it will identify the type of response the region carried out. The research will determine if the countries acted as a unit or if they acted as individual, rational actors establishing measures that could detriment other governments’ actions. It will also examine the role that the Pan-American Health Organization had during the outbreak and the challenges it faced. Finally, the paper aims to conclude with a clear description of the dynamics of international cooperation in the region and the implications of those dynamics.

Author

• Maria Esther Coronado Martinez, Carleton University