Black Americans’ health suffers significantly
The coronavirus epidemic is being amplified or perhaps made worse by the lack of testing for the virus, according to experts. Data demonstrates how minorities are disproportionately affected by the epidemic and how, within minorities, African Americans in many states suffer the brunt of its effects. More medical services should be offered and more testing should be conducted in minority areas [1, 4-7].
A claim to the set of social structures that can most effectively ensure the enjoyment of this right is the right to health. A claim to the set of social structures that can most effectively ensure the enjoyment of this right is a right to health. The health outcomes of African Americans are largely influenced by racial discrimination, poverty, residential segregation, and underlying medical issues. Acts of prejudice are occurring in a variety of circumstances related to the COVID-19 epidemic [8-10].
The increased predisposition for cardiovascular illness among those in lower socioeconomic levels has not yet been addressed by the American healthcare system. High-density metropolitan areas, the majority of which are in places where marginalized and minority people reside, are where the coronavirus pandemic is most likely to be concentrated. People who are homeless are more susceptible to communicable illnesses since they frequently share a small space and are aging [11, 12].
A human rights-based perspective on COVID-19’s effects on Black Americans
The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was signed by the United States and ratified in 1994. The disparate COVID-19 mortality rates among African Americans show enduring inequities rooted in persistent and systemic issues in the country. Perhaps this tragedy will bring to light the public’s lack of attention to their rights and safety [13, 14].
What can state and non-state actors do to prevent further stigmatization or marginalization of this and other vulnerable communities? The Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights has advised that governments protect economic and social rights by adhering to the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality standards. Laws must be written to provide paid sick and paternity leave as well as universal health coverage. Assistance for drug abuse and mental health has to be improved [15, 16].
IN SUMMERY African Americans are more likely to pass away during coronavirus pandemics. States must ensure that the medical care given to prisoners is at least equivalent to that provided to the general public. Governments and other public authorities must reaffirm their commitment to decreasing vulnerability and the effects of illness by taking action to preserve, safeguard, and fulfill the right to health.
References
[1] M. V. Reyes, “The disproportional impact of COVID-19 on African Americans,” Health and human rights, vol. 22, no. 2, p. 299, 2020.
[2] M. V. Reyes, “STUDENT ESSAY The Disproportional Impact of COVID-19 on African Americans.”
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[8] J. O. Calmore, “Racialized space and the culture of segregation: Hewing a stone of hope from a mountain of despair,” U. Pa. L. Rev., vol. 143, p. 1233, 1994.
[9] A. T. Geronimus and J. P. Thompson, “To denigrate, ignore, or disrupt: racial inequality in health and the impact of a policy-induced breakdown of African American communities,” Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 247-279, 2004.
[10] J. C. Phelan and B. G. Link, “Is racism a fundamental cause of inequalities in health,” Annu Rev Sociol, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 311-330, 2015.
[11] D. S. Massey, A. B. Gross, and K. Shibuya, “Migration, segregation, and the geographic concentration of poverty,” American sociological review, pp. 425-445, 1994.
[12] C. J. Cohen and M. C. Dawson, “Neighborhood poverty and African American politics,” American Political Science Review, vol. 87, no. 2, pp. 286-302, 1993.
[13] E. Schwelb, “The international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination,” International & Comparative Law Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 996-1068, 1966.
[14] K. C. Ferdinand, S. Nedunchezhian, and T. K. Reddy, “The COVID-19 and Influenza “Twindemic”: barriers to Influenza vaccination and potential acceptance of SARS-CoV2 vaccination in African Americans,” Journal of the National Medical Association, vol. 112, no. 6, pp. 681-687, 2020.
[15] A. J. Cahill-Ripley and D. Hendrick, Economic, social and cultural rights and sustaining peace: An introduction. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2018.
[16] R. Izsak, “Report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues,” 2014.