Indigenous protagonism in the context of food insecurity in times of Covid-19

Maurício Soares Leite,Deise Bresan,Jessica Rasquim Araujo,Inara Do Nascimento Tavares,Aline Alves Ferreira,Ricardo Ventura Santos

doi:10.1590/1678-9865202033e200171

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Brazil, indigenous peoples present a complex reality characterized by a marked social vulnerability that is manifested in health and nutritional indicators. In this scenario, poor sanitary conditions prevail, with a high burden of chronic noncommunicable diseases; infectious/parasitic diseases; and nutritional disorders, including malnutrition and anemia. This situation is reflected in numerous aspects of food insecurity, placing this population in a position of particular vulnerability to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and its effects. The objective of our study was to present a set of preliminary reflections on food insecurity and indigenous protagonism in times of Covid-19. The pandemic has deepened the inequalities that affect the indigenous peoples, with a direct impact on food security conditions. Amid the effects of the pandemic, indigenous protagonism has played a fundamental role in guaranteeing these peoples’ rights and access to food, denouncing the absent and slow official responses as acts of institutional violence, which will have serious and lasting effects on the lives of indigenous peoples.

Highlights

Projections pointing toward the risk of rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and its devastating impacts on the indigenous people of Brazil are being confirmed every day in the ongoing course of the pandemic [1]
According to EPICOVID19-BR [3], an ongoing epidemiological survey on the situation of Covid-19 in Brazil, the self-reported indigenous individuals living in urban centers are five times more likely to have Covid-19 compared with the self-reported white population
The objective of this study is to present a set of preliminary reflections on food insecurity and indigenous protagonism in times of Covid-19

Summary

Introduction

Projections pointing toward the risk of rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and its devastating impacts on the indigenous people of Brazil are being confirmed every day in the ongoing course of the pandemic [1]. The epidemiological situation of the indigenous population quickly transitioned from a situation of zero cases to community transmission, with infection, mortality, and lethality rates, in some regions of the country, significantly surpassing those recorded among the nonindigenous population [2]. In the northern part of Brazil, a region with the largest number of indigenous people in the country, the mortality rate in the Distritos Sanitários Especiais Indígenas (DSEI, Special Indigenous Sanitary Districts) is estimated at 52 deaths per 100,000 people. The overall mortality in Brazil is estimated at 21 deaths per 100,000 people [1]. According to EPICOVID19-BR [3], an ongoing epidemiological survey on the situation of Covid-19 in Brazil, the self-reported indigenous individuals living in urban centers are five times more likely to have Covid-19 compared with the self-reported white population. Reporting of indigenous deaths and cases in other categories of color or race, in the category “pardo” (brown), is an issue because it leads to underreporting of indigenous cases in the statistical data [4]

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion