With Americas still the epicentre of Coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organisation has cautioned that the life of the indigenous people in the country is of grave concern.
The WHO said that more than 70,000 cases and over 2,000 deaths were reported among this population as of July 6. It said that at least six cases were reported among the Nahua people, who live in the Peruvian Amazon.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the indigenous population was at a higher risk of contracting the disease as these people are among the world’s poorest and most vulnerable groups.
He said that the indigenous peoples faced many challenges, which included lack of political representation, lack of access to health, education and social services and economic marginalization.
“Indigenous peoples often have a high burden of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and both communicable and non-communicable diseases, making them more vulnerable to Covid- 19 and its severe outcomes,” he said.
The WHO’s Regional Office for the Americas recently made some recommendations for preventing COVID-19 among these people. The WHO said that they were continuously monitoring the situation.
The WHO also cautioned of more vigil and underlined the importance of contact tracing to suppress the transmission of coronavirus among indigenous communities and the population at large. The Organisation said that it was needed as more countries were now lifting lockdown restrictions.
WHO Assistant Director-General for Emergency Response Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall said that contact tracing helps in breaking the further transmission of coronavirus.
