FEDERAL HOUSE COMMITTEE CONCLUDES REPORT ON MALNUTRITION IN MS AND MT

 

“The malnutrition-linked deaths in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso do not represent a new occurrence for the authorities and are related to fully avoidable factors, of which the most important are: the population’s precarious water supply, inadequate sanitation, deficiencies in the capacity to prevent these deaths and in the health care service (which must be guaranteed by the federal administration and may be supplemented by the states and municipalities), as well as the obvious shortage of food intake by children under five years old.” This statement is one of the conclusions drawn by a special committee of the Chamber of Deputies which visited the lands of the Xavante and Guarani-Kaiowá peoples to investigate the causes of the deaths of 21 indigenous children in Mato Grosso do Sul (MS) and a further six children in Mato Grosso (MT).

 

The investigation found few substantial differences between the indigenous situations in the two states. “In both situations, public policies have not been defined and the public institutions are not present. The difference lies in the land issue – in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, the indigenous people have been confined to a very small area of land. This situation is not immediately apparent in Mato Grosso,” says Deputy Perpétua Almeida (Communist Party of Brazil – state of Acre), the Committee’s rapporteur.

 

The report’s conclusion deals principally with sanitation and land aspects of the problem. An analysis of indigenist policy and the need to guarantee lands so that the indigenous people can survive are included in the latter point

 

The Committee makes some recommendations to the Ministry of Health and Funasa. These include training healthcare workers and a solution to the water supply problem. “As far as the policy for hiring human resource is concerned: faced with difficulties observed with the health care agreement system, the option of increasing Funasa’s staff by holding a public examination should be considered.” Audits of the Funasa, Funai and the Single Health System (SUS) resources intended for indigenous health care are requested, along with an analysis of how the institutions or city halls which have agreements with the Federal Government have invested their funds.

 

It suggests that the Office of the President of the Republic sets up a Special Department for Indigenous Issues with the status of a ministry and with the authority to define the indigenous policy, as well as strengthening the public departments involved in the implementation of indigenous policies.

 

The Committee has found signs that the malnutrition problem is not limited to the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. There is news that there were nine deaths caused by malnutrition in Vale do Javari, state of Amazonas, in 2004, and other deaths amongst Maxakali people in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais which led to a complaint to the OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Minas Gerais, accusing Brazil of negligence because of these deaths.

 

The Special Committee finished by approving the report, which will be handed to the president of the House next week. Meetings with ministers, the Federal Court of Audit and the Public Prosecutor’s Office to present the Committee’s suggestions are planned for the next few weeks.

 

CNBB IS “HAPPY” ABOUT RAPOSA SERRA DO SOL AND “SUPPORTS” THE MST MARCH

 

In a press release published today (12 May), the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil expresses its support for the official confirmation of the bounds of the Raposa/Serra do Sol land and support for the mobilization of landless rural workers who left Goiânia on foot on May 1 and should arrive in Brasília next Tuesday, May 17. The release also expresses concern for those people affected by HIV/AIDS, especially for the need to guarantee public distribution and “continued sufficient production of the necessary medicines, above and beyond economic interests”.

 

About the Raposa/Serra do Sol land, the bishops stated that “this demarcation is an important step towards recognition of the constitutional rights of the indigenous people to the lands that they have traditionally occupied”. The CNBB stresses the “courageous action” of the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR), the Diocese of Roraima and Cimi for the “long journey of struggle and suffering” that led to recognition of the indigenous land. “We hope that the same thing happens with the other indigenous areas, that are waiting for demarcation and ratification”, they state.

 

The land issue is also raised in the sections that support the landless peoples march: “Like they do, we demand that the Federal Government carries out the National Agrarian Reform Plan, strengthens the policies that are consistent with supporting household agriculture and releases the necessary resources for creating settlements, as promised by the government, so as to ensure a fairer system in urban and rural areas,” the CNBB states.

 

Brasília, 12 May 2005.

 

Cimi – Conselho Indigenista Missionário