Goal: To improve the health of the indigenous peoples.
Purpose: In collaboration with the indigenous peoples themselves, to find realistic and sustainable solutions to the serious problems of poor health and substandard living conditions that are the reality of many of the indigenous peoples throughout the Region.
Lines of work: National policies and international agreements, networks of interinstitutional and intersectoral collaboration; primary health care and intercultural approach to health; and information analysis, monitoring, and management.
Strategies: (a) to promote joint efforts and shared responsibility by PAHO and its Member States and the indigenous organizations and communities, in conjunction with national and international agencies and organizations (governmental and nongovernmental); (b) to develop adequate knowledge and information based on experiences, as well as making it possible to systematically store the knowledge and information gained through experience; (c) to formulate proposals that respond both to particular situations and contexts which vary from country to country and develop approaches according to common issues at regional levels with the involvement of the entire Organization and all Member States in this process.
Areas of Work: Building capacity and alliances; working with Member States to implement national and local processes and projects; projects in priority programmatic areas; strengthening traditional health systems; and scientific, technical, and public information.
Health Program of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas; Action Plan 2005–2007 (615.78 kB)
Within the framework of the efforts that the countries and peoples of the Americas develop in order to achieve equity, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has implemented systematic actions with regard to indigenous health in compliance with Resolutions CD37.R5 (1993) and CD40.R6 (1997). The PAHO technical cooperation and the actions of the Member Countries are based on the principles of the Health of the Indigenous Peoples Initiative, which demand the permanent involvement of the indigenous peoples themselves and the recognition and respect of their ancestral wisdom.
The Work Plan for 2005-2007 consists of a brief outline of the health and living conditions of the indigenous peoples as well as the activities that will be developed in the period 2005-2007 in compliance with the expected results of the Health of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Program for 2015.
Content:
1 Introduction
2 Brief description of the health and living conditions of the indigenous peoples
2.1 Millennium Development Goals
2.2 Inequity and strengths
3 Health of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Program:
Plan of Action 2005-2007
3.1: Incorporation of the indigenous perspective into the MDGs and national health policies
3.2: Primary health care and intercultural approach to health
3.3: Strategic alliances, strengthening of the countries’ technical capacity, and indigenous leadership
3.4: Information and knowledge management
4 Budget
5. Annex: Millennium Development Goals and inequity
Health of the Indigenous Peoples Initiative; Strategic Directions and Plan of Action 2003–2007
Strategic Directions 2003-2007
1. Promoting the development and/or application of the national and international health policies that favor the health and well-being of the indigenous peoples.
2. Strengthening the information systems and country capacity for analysis, management and prioritization of health care in indigenous population. This includes local capacity building in areas with indigenous population and the provision of necessary supplies and equipments.
3. Health personnel and community training in curative and preventive actions, as well as, in rehabilitation and health promotion strategies, taking into account the epidemiological profile, the sociocultural characteristics, and the community resources of the population. This implies the development of models of care adapted to the sociocultural contexts of the population and the generation of knowledge through the operations research.
4. Promoting the joint effort of the countries of the Region in addressing the health problems of the indigenous peoples.