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This study aims to provide an analytical tool to inform a broad set of public policies under a multidimensional framework. The analysis proposes the construction of a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) to identify the most vulnerable population and hence to inform planning policies and envisage, or complement, current or prospective public interventions. The proposed index builds on the Alkire and Foster methodology currently used in Bhutan’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). This measure aims at identifying the populations on whose lives COVID-19 could have a heavy toll.

Australia’s distinctive biogeography means that it is sometimes considered an ecologically unique continent with biological and abiotic features that are not comparable to those observed in the rest of the world. This leaves some researchers unclear as to whether findings from Australia apply to systems elsewhere (or vice-versa), which has consequences for the development of ecological theory and the application of ecological management principles. We analyzed 594,612 observations spanning 85 variables describing global climate, soil, geochemistry, plants, animals, and ecosystem function to test if Australia is broadly different to the other continents and compare how different each continent is from the global mean. We found significant differences between Australian and global means for none of 15 climate variables, only seven of 25 geochemistry variables, three of 16 soil variables, five of 12 plant trait variables, four of 11 animal variables, and one of five ecosystem function variables. Seven of these differences remained significant when we adjusted for multiple hypothesis testing: high soil pH, high soil concentrations of sodium and strontium, a high proportion of nitrogen-fixing plants, low plant leaf nitrogen concentration, low annual production rate to birth in mammals, and low marine productivity. Our analyses reveal numerous similarities between Australia and Africa and highlight dissimilarities between continents in the northern vs. southern hemispheres. Australia ranked the most distinctive continent for 26 variables, more often than Europe (15 variables), Africa (13 variables), Asia (12 variables each), South America (11 variables) or North America (8 variables). Australia was distinctive in a range of soil conditions and plant traits, and a few bird and mammal traits, tending to sit at a more extreme end of variation for some variables related to resource availability. However, combined analyses revealed that, overall, Australia is not significantly more different to the global mean than Africa, South America, or Europe. In conclusion, while Australia does have some unique and distinctive features, this is also true for each of the other continents, and the data do not support the idea that Australia is an overall outlier in its biotic or abiotic characteristics.

Background: The time to resumption of menses (ROM) after long-term treatment for breast cancer is rarely known. Additionally, fertility perception is an important issue to measured quality of life in breast cancer young (BCY) patients. Herein, we describe the incidence of ROM and fertility perception in a developing country. Methods: We studied medical records from pre-menopausal with breast cancer with or without hormone receptors (HR) diagnosed at the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas (INEN) in Lima, Peru from 2010 to 2012. ROM was defined as at least three consecutive menstrual cycles. A 3-question survey about desire to have children and perception about fertility treatment were conducted. Patients were classified according to HR status: in HR-negative ROM was measured at the end of chemotherapy treatment, and for HR-positive patients ROM was evaluated after chemo followed by tamoxifen for 24 months. Results: From 677 patients, 10.7% (n=73) agreed to complete the survey. Median age was 41 years old (25-45), 15% (n=11) were stage I; 52% (n=38) stage II and 33% (n=24) stage III. HR (+) /HER2 (-) was the most frequent subtype with 59.1% (n=43). Approximately 30% patients (n=25) used chemical blockade (LHRH agonists) and 84% of those patients had undergone oophorectomy. With a median follow-up of 10 years, 24.3% (n=18) had ROM. The median age was 39 years (26-45) and the mean time of ROM was 3.78 months (1-6). In patients ≤ 39 years, 30% (n=9) had ROM and for the patients > 39 years 20% (n=9) had ROM. Only 1 patient was pregnant. The most frequent cause of avoiding birth desire was lack of information (90%). The perception of fertility and access to fertility preservation methods was evaluated in a survey; 19% (n=14) still desired pregnancy and 4% (n=3) thought about undergoing a fertility treatment. Conclusions: A quarter of the patients with breast cancer have ROM; however, it was higher in younger patients. Despite of the pregnancy desire, the lack of information and access to fertilization techniques make it difficult. These results give us the opportunity to improve multidisciplinary management and include fertility preservation in the discussion.

The analysis of income mobility is often constrained to short-term periods of survey panel data. This paper provides long-term income mobility trends through a continuum of short- term synthetic panels in Mexico. The examined period of analysis (1989–2018) is characterized by the lack of panel data and by a changing macroeconomic environment. The analysis builds on cross-sectional survey data using the methodology developed in Bourguignon and Moreno (2020) and employs several income mobility indicators from three complementary conceptions used in the literature: positional mobility, directional movement, and mobility as an equalizer of longer-term incomes. This research documents low levels of economic mobility over the course of three decades, except for the periods of rebound economic growth following the two deepest economic crises in modern times: one internal, in 1995, and one external – in 2009. These movements, however, seem to be only transitory deviations as income mobility indicators soon returned to their characteristic levels.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has altered people’s lives in a multifaceted way. It is now clear that the progress in poverty reduction is also at stake. This briefing analyses the most recent and up-to-date trends in multidimensional poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) prior to the pandemic, which is essential for understanding both the progress made in the past and for use as a benchmark for the future. The briefing first presents the levels of multidimensional poverty in LAC according to the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2020.