Slums in Latin America are facing coronavirus without waiting for state action.

Thomson Reuters Foundation - Leaning over sewing machines in their homes in Maré, about 50 women have the mission of making two masks for each of the 140 residents of the gigantic favela complex in Rio de Janeiro over the next two months.

The women—most of whom are unemployed due to the coronavirus pandemic—watched videos on how to make masks and are being paid above market price, said Andreza Lopes, who coordinates the project for the nonprofit organization Redes da Maré.

“Nearly half of the women in Maré are financially responsible for their households,” said Lopes, 32, by phone, adding that the project, which will distribute the masks for free, has the support of three Brazilian banks.

"Now they are very happy and grateful to be doing this work, which has a greater meaning," he added.

The project is one of dozens of initiatives being adopted in favelas across Latin America, from Brazil to Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico, by poor communities coming together to help the most vulnerable during the pandemic, at a time when the region is becoming the new epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The respiratory illness is spreading rapidly through the region, where it has already killed more than 31 people and infected more than 570, according to a count by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Across Latin America and the Caribbean, some 113 million people—nearly one in five—live in slums, where health experts say the rate of Covid-19 infections tends to be higher due to poor nutrition, cramped housing, and poor health.

But many favela residents said the government offered them little or no help in dealing with the economic and health consequences, forcing them and their community leaders to fill the gaps themselves.

“It’s a very tragic situation right now… nothing significant is being done by the State,” said Alessandra Orofino, head of the non-profit organization Nossas, which works in favelas and creates technological tools for social movements.

Brazil's Ministry of Health did not respond to a request for comment.

HARDLY AFFECTED

With limited access to sanitation and millions of people sharing cramped housing, Latin American slums are especially vulnerable to the pandemic, health experts say.

“In these places where you have a high human density and overcrowding... you have a perfect environment for transmission,” explained Federico Costa, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Federal University of Bahia.

In Brazil, where there are more than 22 deaths from Covid-19—leading the WHO to label the country as the most recent coronavirus hotspot—approximately 15 million people live in favelas.

"There are 140 people in just over four kilometers... how do you maintain social distancing in this context?", Lopes asked, speaking about the situation in Maré.

Nossas is helping community groups in Rio's favelas to set up fundraising campaigns to raise money to fight Covid-19.

At the end of April, the organization and other local groups organized a concert streamed online featuring popular Brazilian musicians, many of whom were born and raised in the favelas.

The show, which garnered over eight million views, raised approximately 270 reais for the purchase and delivery of food packages and hygiene kits to residents of Rio's favelas, Orofino said.

"The favelas have built resilience over time, and now they are using it."

"We don't think for a second that this fundraising and self-organization will stop Covid-19. We simply don't have time to wait for the government to do something."

Since the start of the outbreak, some governments in the region have been distributing food packages and cash payments to vulnerable communities.

In poorer neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, Covid-19 infection rates are nearly 30% higher than in other parts of Argentina's capital, according to government figures.

The Argentine government announced that low-income workers will receive a one-time payment equivalent to $147, and Colombia allocated $120 million to assist three million workers in the informal economy.

Chile announced emergency cash transfers that will reach approximately 4,5 million people, and the Dominican Republic allocated cash payments to 1,5 million families.

Argentina, Ecuador, and Colombia have banned service providers from stopping service to tenants with overdue payments during the pandemic, and in Peru, low-income households have been informed that they can delay payment of utility bills.