(INW).- Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, 48,405 indigenous people of Brazil have tested positive to the virus and 962 have passed away. According to the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples do Brasil’s report “Our Fight is For Life.” Published last November.
COIAB, the Coordinating Body for Indigenous Organizations in the Brazilian Amazon, have informed that the mortality rate among indigenous people in the Amazon region is a staggering 58% higher than that of the general population, while the infection rate is 68% higher.
In the report, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples accused the Brazilian government led by Jair Bolsonaro of “anti-indigenous” and “neglected”.
“We affirm that the Federal Government neglected its obligation to protect workers and users of the Indigenous Health Subsystem and, thus, favoured the entry of the virus in several territories. We emphasize that it is the duty of the managing agency, the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (SESAI), to provide the ap- propriate inputs, training and protocols for the safety of workers and users.” Says APIB.
While vaccination programmes have started to roll out across the country, as of December 2020, Brazil’s Indigenous Affairs Agency FUNAI had only spent 52% of its budget to tackle the pandemic, according to APIB.
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