INPACVIH: tackling HIV in Peru's indigenous communities

Abstract

Peru's Amazon rainforest accounts for 60% of the country's national territory, and is home to around 264 000 indigenous people, according to the National Institute for Statistics and Information. Despite many communities having limited interaction with Peru's urban centres and their inhabitants, and some tribes remaining uncontacted, health authorities are worried about the silent spread of HIV. One small volunteer-run non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Lima, the coastal capital, is working to provide a bridge between vulnerable indigenous communities and the Peruvian health system. HIV in the Amazon's indigenous populationsHealth workers warn of the steady and silent spread of HIV among indigenous peoples of the Amazon, the literal definition of hard-to-reach populations. Joe Parkin Daniels investigates. Full-Text PDF