Indigenous healthcare under threat in Brazil

Healthcare programs for indigenous peoples in Brazil are overseen by a federal agency, called FUNASA, under the Ministry of Health. FUNASA has been wracked with a series of scandals over the years, including allegations of misappropriation of funds and corruption. Medical supplies aren’t getting to a number of communities, and healthcare is inadequate.

In Northern Brazil, the Yanomami have denounced an alarming increase in malaria cases, exacerbated by illegal gold mining. Currently, medical assistance is not getting to the communities because of bureaucratic hurdles around the approval of airstrips in the Yanomami Area – something that has never been a problem either there or elsewhere. Indeed, many of the scandals involving FUNASA have taken place within the Yanomami health program. In the Javari Valley, a vast indigenous area in the western Amazon, hepatitis and malaria epidemics are ravaging the Kanamari, Matis, Marubo Tsohom-dyapa, and Korubo, as well as isolated groups that live in the region.

On August 3rd, the Brazilian Senate is set to vote on a law that would create a secretariat that would be specifically in charge of indigenous healthcare.  This has been a key demand of the Yanomami and of the indigenous movement in Brazil for years, and is seen as a positive step in guaranteeing adequate healthcare for these communities.  A draft law was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on July 7, and expires on August 4th if the Senate does not approve it. 

We’re therefore joining our partners at the Hutukara Yanomami Association and the Socioenvironmental Institute (ISA) in calling for the creation of the Indigenous Health Secretariat. We hope that through a new, independent government office, indigenous healthcare will receive the attention it deserves. 

Please send a letter to the Brazilian Senate

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