The representatives of the indigenous Peoples of Roraima – Makuxi, Yanomami, Wapichana, Taurepang, Ingarikó, Yekuana and Wai-Wai, together with their allies present at the World Social Forum held in Belém, in the state of Pará, Brazil, come to manifest their concern as to the grave situation of health assistance to the indigenous communities in our state and in all the country.

 

The lack of adequate investments in the physical structure and of the equipment for health posts, transportation and communication, the insufficiency of basic medication and the constant delays in the delivery of resources and services of the health districts, demonstrate the enormous incapacity of the FUNASA to manage the indigenous health services. This seriously affects the organization of the services and provokes a growing number of ill people and even deaths in our population.

 

The aggravation of this situation in recent years led to a generalized dissatisfaction among the leaderships and indigenous communities that is reflected in all the indigenous sanitary districts in the country, demanding profound changes that eliminate the ill will, bureaucracy, authoritarianism, and the political influences that hamper the struggle of the indigenous peoples and their allies in the construction of reliable and participatory health for their communities.

 

The continuity of contracts signed with the FUNASA for the execution of actions to provide indigenous health care in the present format is unviable, provoking grave distortions in its original objectives and generating great political and institutional onus on all the organizations involved.

 

The indigenous mobilization starting with the manifestations of the movement of Indigenous April 2008, of the Forum of the Presidents of District Counsels of Health and of the National Commission of Indigenous Policy (CNPI), led the federal government to announce the creation of a Special Secretary of Indigenous Health, which will be the organ responsible for realization of the reforms in the subsystem and for the administrative autonomy of the Indigenous Sanitary Districts (Distritos Sanitários Indígenas) throughout the country.

 

Considering the grave problems that are afflicting our communities, the transition to this new management model for the Indigenous Healthcare in Brazil must occur with the greatest urgency possible. With the effective involvement of the legitimate representatives of the indigenous peoples and of their true allies. With this objective we present the following proposals:

 

1. The Minister of Health needs to immediately transform the Special Indigenous Sanitary Districts (Distritos Sanitários Especiais Indígenas) into management units, with political, administrative and financial autonomy, and delivery of the resources directly through the federal government, through the presentation of work plans approved by the District Health Counsels (Conselhos Distritais de Saúde).


2. We propose the realization of a meeting prior to the Regional Seminar of Participatory Management proposed by the Ministry of Health, uniting the Yanomami Sanitary Districts and the ones of East Roraima, due to large geographic expanse and population and to the complexity of our reality, to be held on the second fortnight of February in the city of Boa Vista.


3. The resources designated for indigenous health need to be anticipated in the budget ceilings of each Special Indigenous Sanitary District, in accordance to the District Health Plan (Plano Distrital de Saúde) and conforming to respective realities, established in a transparent process and with the effective participation of all the jurisdictions of social control involved.


4. The change from the present model of management by the federal government needs to take into account the situation of the contracts during the period of transition, assuring regularity in delivery of financial resources, avoiding the bureaucratic restraints and the disinformation of the organs of control that threaten the continuity of actions and provoke paralysis of the health activities in the villages.


5. The policy of the partners to development of actions in indigenous health of a complementary nature as provided in the Lei Arouca must preferentially consider the indigenous organizations or other governmental and non-governmental organizations that have proven experience in work with the indigenous peoples, by means of approval by District Health Councils.


6. The coordinators or chiefs of the Special Indigenous Sanitary Districts (Distritos Sanitários Especiais Indígenas) need to be approved by the respective District Health Councils, and need to act always in consonance with the deliberations of the jurisdictions of social control.


7. The Indigenous Health Agents (Agentes Indígenas de Saúde) need to be recognized as the principle base of the assistance model in the districts, having assured their technical capacitation and professional regulation as determined by Brazilian legislation, further prioritizing the formation of indigenous human resources in the technical areas and in higher education.


8. The next National Conference on Indigenous Health scheduled for 2010 needs to be conducted in Brasilia, which is the center for policy decisions in the nation, being preceded by local and district stages where there is to be guaranteed ample participation and the free manifestation of the Indigenous communities and their organizations.

 

The Brazilian Federal Constitution, the Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the United Nations (UN) recognize the right of the indigenous peoples to actively participate in the implementation of all the policies with respect to them.

 

The guarantee of indigenous rights to preservation of their lands and natural resources is fundamental to their health, because it is they who experience their nutrition, remedy, well being and happiness in joy of living, and the demarcation of the traditional indigenous territories is the indispensable condition for physical and cultural reproduction of their communities.

 

 

Belém, Pará, 26 January of 2009

 

Signers:

Conselho Indígena de Roraima – CIR

Hutukara Associação Yanomami – HAY

Conselho do Povo Indígena Ingarikó – COPING

Associação dos Povos Indígenas de Roraima – APIRR

Associação dos Povos Indígenas da Terra São Marcos – APITSM

Organização das Mulheres Indígenas de Roraima – OMIR

Organização dos Professores Indígenas de Roraima – OPIRR

Associação Serviço e Cooperação com o Povo Yanomami – SECOYA

Diocese de Roraima

 

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