More attention to indigenous health is demanded during debate at the House General Commission

Cassandra Castro – from Cenarium

BRASILIA (DF) – A basic right for all was once again demanded by the federal congresswoman Joenia Wapchana (Rede-RR) during a debate held by the General Commission of the House. The issue of facing the Covid-19 pandemic within indigenous communities was also remembered by the parliamentarian.

“Talking about health is talking about a basic right for everyone, especially for those who have already been suffering from the pandemic, like the indigenous people who have been resistant to a series of factors, among them the epidemiological crisis,” said the congresswoman about the right to health.

Another issue raised by the congresswoman from Roraima was the pressure that indigenous organizations along with opposition parties needed to exert when they filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court (STF) to demand a plan to confront the pandemic in relation to indigenous people.

She still reinforced that it is necessary to advance in vaccination, even with many fake news circulating in indigenous communities. She emphasizes that even with the dissemination of false information, the vaccine should continue, because it is the only measure to combat the disease today. According to the Committee of Memory and Indigenous Life, so far there are 58,017 infected, 1,166 deaths and 163 indigenous peoples affected by Covid-19.