Indigenous Communities: Health and Rights

There are an estimated 370 million indigenous people living in more than 70 countries. They are some of the world’s poorest and most marginalised people often facing significant disadvantages, discrimination and exclusion. Poor health and premature death are all too common.

Many indigenous communities were the victims of oppression or conflict in the past when outsiders sought to colonise their land – and many still face the challenges of social, economic, political and cultural marginalisation today.

The Millennium Development Goals remain much further off track among indigenous communities than across populations as a whole. Cultural and language barriers, and racist and insensitive behaviour can all make indigenous communities reluctant to seek outside help. Governments may also neglect remote indigenous communities in order to focus on ‘easy to reach’, more vocal groups such as city-dwellers.

The international community is beginning to recognise that special measures are essential to protect the health and rights of indigenous people, and a UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was approved in 2007. But huge challenges remain to translate internationally established rights into real improvements in health.

Health Poverty Action says:

• Health ministries must provide culturally appropriate health services for indigenous communities. This must be in keeping with their traditions of health and well-being, provided in their own languages (with interpreters and translators where needed), and in a culturally appropriate setting.
• Health ministries need to tackle prejudices towards indigenous people, providing special training for health workers in particular.
• Health services must be made accessible to indigenous communities. This means providing well-equipped and reliably staffed mobile health units in remote areas. It also means improving transport links and subsidising travel costs for people in need. Long-term financial support is vital to tackle these sorts of practical barriers.
• Mechanisms to ensure indigenous people can speak out and take part in decisions are vital. Indigenous communities must have the opportunity and confidence to articulate their own health concerns and priorities to governments. Non-governmental organisations like Health Poverty Action can help communities reflect on their health problems, reach their own solutions and make sure their needs aren’t ignored.
• The true extent of health problems faced by indigenous communities is often unknown. Governments need to improve their information gathering and invest more in research and data collection to accurately capture their situation.
• Wealthy countries need to introduce binding national regulation to stop powerful international companies exploiting the land and resources of indigenous people.
• Developing countries need to develop tough national laws and effective policies to turn international rights into reality, and to tackle ingrained social prejudice.
  

What is Health Poverty Action doing to help?

• In Peru we have set up a forum for indigenous women and health workers to discuss health issues enables communities to engage with government officials and campaign for their health rights.
• In Ethiopia widespread harmful traditional practices and restricted access to modern services cause poor health and high death rates in pastoralist communities.  Our project means communities are now more aware of the dangers of traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation and traditional ceremonies encouraging unprotected sex in young girls.