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Marina Silva wants to declare a climate emergency in risk areas; Lula and Tarcisio announce measures to aid São Paulo's coast

President Lula and the mayor of São Sebastião (SP) in the aftermath of the rains

Credit: Ricardo Stuckert/PR

24 Feb 23

Marina Silva wants to declare a climate emergency in risk areas; Lula and Tarcisio announce measures to aid São Paulo’s coast

In response to the largest storm ever recorded in Brazil on the northern coast of São Paulo state, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, and the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovations, Luciana Santos, proposed on Tuesday (21) to design an emergency plan to adapt to extreme weather events in 1,038 municipalities, which are home to 57% of the country’s population. The measure aims to facilitate access to resources for infrastructure works, such as slope containment and drainage, recovery of riparian forests, creation of civil defense and education plans for climate risk and resettlement of residents in vulnerable areas.

Before this, the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) had already announced on Monday (20) a series of actions to reduce the impacts on the population of the northern coast of São Paulo, victim of the lack of prevention and hit by the biggest storm in Brazil’s history.

Lula flew over areas devastated by landslides and flooding. He also met with the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos), and the mayor of São Sebastião, Felipe Augusto (PSDB), and made the federal government’s structure available to mitigate the damage. Several ministers participated in the audience, including the Minister of Ports and Airports, Márcio França (PSB), who announced R$ 2 million to the Government of São Paulo and the city halls of the northern coast cities, including Bertioga, can help the victims. Lula asked for total priority to the climate emergency, and articulated joint actions between the Ministries of Social Development, Finance, Planning, Transportation and Health. On the 21st, Lula’s government transferred R$ 7 million to São Sebastião municipalitie and the resources will be used to buy food baskets, cleaning kits, personal hygiene, mattresses and fuel. More than 73,8 thousand people will be assisted.

The São Paulo state government, for its part, announced on the 23rd that it will install sirens in the region, in places where there is risk of landslides and flooding. The emergency measure, however, is seen with caution by specialists. They say that the adoption of the equipment needs to occur in conjunction with a series of actions, such as training the population, developing escape routes and conducting recurrent drills.

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Covid-19: Indigenous and quilombola communities face government neglect regarding vaccination plan

These populations are victim of institutional racism and disinformation tactics

Credit: Ana Mendes/Cimi

29 Jan 21

Covid-19: Indigenous and quilombola communities face government neglect regarding vaccination plan

Victims of federal government neglect, indigenous and quilombolas [Afro-brazilian traditional communities] organizations have pointed out serious flaws in the vaccination plan against Covid-19 executed by the Ministry of Health (MS), which began on January 20.

Regarding the indigenous population, the ministry announced that only “indigenous who live in villages” are among the priority groups contemplated in the first phase of vaccination. The Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi), said that the criteria shows institutional racism by defining as indigenous only “people who live in villages of homologated indigenous lands,” ignoring people from urban contexts, which add up to almost half – 46%, according to data from the 2010 Census – of the country’s indigenous population. “The term used by the Minister of Health, ‘indigenous villagers’, takes us back to the period of the military dictatorship that represents discrimination, where the government intends to define arbitrarily who is and who is not indigenous […]. The National Vaccination Plan, therefore, needs to recognize the extension of this priority group and reach it in its entirety,” declared Roque Paloschi, president of Cimi, in a note released by the organization. In addition to racist typification, the indigenous population also fights against misinformation and fake news regarding immunization, stimulated by the firing of messages via Whatsapp and negationist discourses by evangelical pastors.

The quilombolas, on the other hand, which had previously been included in the groups contemplated in the first phase, do not have a stipulated date to receive the vaccines. Under the pretense that there are not enough doses to vaccinate the entire contingent of priority publics, the Ministry of Health declared that “there was a need for a replanning within the priorities initially listed” leaving the quilombola population unassisted. The coordinator of the Chamber of Indigenous Populations and Traditional Communities of the Federal Public Prosecuttion (6CCR/MPF), Eliana Torelly, sent a letter to the Ministry of Health requesting a position on the change, in which she points out that the decision was reflected in the state plans, leaving quilombolas at the mercy of conflicting and inaccurate information.

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Nine Yanomami children die with Covid-19 compatible symptoms

An Yanomami receives medical attention on July 2020

Credit: Agência Saúde via Amazônia real

29 Jan 21

Nine Yanomami children die with Covid-19 compatible symptoms

In January alone, nine Yanomami children in Roraima died of high fever and respiratory difficulty, symptoms compatible with Covid-19. On December 26, the Yanomami and Ye’Kuana District Council (Condisi-YY) had requested medical teams for the communities. Health posts in the region have been closed for two months.

“So far we have no response. The Waphuta and Kataroa communities are without health care. I received information from the leaders of these communities and they said that they still have many sick people. A group of 25 children are having the same symptoms and are in a grave condition. This is very serious,” Condisi-YY president Junior Hekuari Yanomami told the website Amazônia Real.

A survey by the Pro-YY Network indicates that the Yanomami Indigenous Territory had so far had 1641 confirmed cases and 16 deaths, in addition to 14 suspects. The first indigenous victim of Covid-19 in Brazil was a fifteen-year-old Yanomami teenager.

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Covid-19: Amazon states health crisis deepens with new virus strain

Brazil’s northern region has close to one million people infected by Covid since the begining of the pandemic

Credit: Juliana Pesqueira/Amazônia Real

28 Jan 21

Covid-19: Amazon states health crisis deepens with new virus strain

Amid the significant increase of Covid-19 cases in Amazonas state, attributed in part to the new strain of the coronavirus, other states in the northern region are on alert. According to the newspaper Metrópole, the states of Rondônia, Tocantins and Roraima also no longer have available ICU beds for patients infected with the virus, while Acre, Pará and Amapá register a worrisome occupation rate, above 70%. Together, the region’s states accounted for 998,590 infected people and 21,373 dead from the disease until January 27.

Manaus is still the most affected city, after the outbreak of the lack of oxygen crisis in the city, on the 14th. Until January 26, health authorities transferred 302 patients from Manaus to other states. According to the Minister of Health, General Eduardo Pazuello, they expect the number to reach 1,500.

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Orowao Pandran, Canoé youth leader, dies from Covid-19 related complications

Indigenous organizations blame systemic state neglect

Credit: Apib

28 Jan 21

Orowao Pandran, Canoé youth leader, dies from Covid-19 related complications

Orowao Pandran Canoé Oro Mon, of the Canoé indigenous people, died, after being infected with COVID-19 and suffering from kidney complications, in the city of Porto Velho, capital of Rondônia. Graduated in Environmental Management and studying for a Master’s degree in Literature, the young indigenous was considered a leader. Indigenous organizations, such as the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), affirmed that Orowao’s death happened “due to negligence of the Brazilian State”.

“Pandran was a great example for the indigenous movement, especially for the youth. In his academic career, he has always been active in the student’s movement, supporting the organization and struggle of students, especially indigenous people,” said the entity in an official statement.

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Manaus can’t breath: Amazonas state capital residents die of Covid-19 in crowded hospitals without oxygen

Health professionals say that “patients are being murdered” by government neglect

Credit: Amazônia Real/Reproduction

17 Jan 21

Manaus can’t breath: Amazonas state capital residents die of Covid-19 in crowded hospitals without oxygen

Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, in the Amazon region, was one of the first cities in Brazil to see its health system collapse with the pandemic. Months after that episode, the city is going through the same predictable tragedy, with an outburst of Covid-19 cases and the lack of oxygen canisters in its crowded hospitals since January 14th. Patients are dying asphyxiated, as reported by health professionals, and over 200 people were transferred to other states.

A story by the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo showed that general Eduardo Pazuello, minister of Health, was warned about the oxygen shortage in Manaus by members of the state government, by the company that produces oxygen and even by his sister-in-law who had a family member “without oxygen to live through the day”. Even with four days of notice, he said “he couldn’t do anything”. A few days before the collapse, the minister sent a task-force of doctors to promote “precocious treatment” with chloroquine and other unproven medicines.

The appearance of a new strain of the virus is one of the culprits, experts say, but this chaotic scenario is preceded by neglect by the federal administration. Jesem Orellana, a researcher at Fiocruz-Amazônia, said in an interview to the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo that the rejection, by government officials, to do a lockdown, suggested by experts since September, is to blame. The governor, Wilson Lima, supported by president Jair Bolsonaro, fought against more restrictive measures. Orellana also blamed “bad science” after a study said that Manaus had achieved “herd immunity”. “This was debated at restaurant tables and between politicians. Now we know better. The population relaxed and now we know how it ended”.

The Manaus situation shocked the country and the civil society mobilized efforts to aid the hospitals and send oxygen to the state. The president, however, sustained his position and said “he did what he could”, while reinforcing his promotion of ineffective and unproven medicines against Covid-19.

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Covid-19: more than 700 Yanomami infected; malaria and invasion of gold diggers increase risks to indigenous group

Illegal gold diggers invasion in Yanomami lands on May, 2020

Crédito: Chico Batata

23 Sep 20

Covid-19: more than 700 Yanomami infected; malaria and invasion of gold diggers increase risks to indigenous group

Covid-19 has infected over 700 Yanomami have already, according to a September 22 bulletin from the Special Yanomami Indigenous Sanitary District (Dsei-Y). Seven indigenous individuals died in six different villages of the Yanomami Indigenous Land (IL). According to the District’s Indigenous Health Council (Condisi-Y), the federal government has not sent medics and medicines to the territory. Junior Yanomami, head of Condisi-Y, said that the government has abandoned the indigenous and that the health structure for the district is insufficient, having only one health professional for each 1,000 indigenous residents.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health denied the abandonment and mentioned an inter-ministerial mission that visited the Yanomami IL in June to fight the pandemic. The expedition became the target of a Federal Prosecution investigation for suspicion of violation of the isolation measures adopted by the communities, and also for distributing hydroxychloroquine — an unproven medication — to the indigenous to treat the coronavirus.

With over 9,000 hectares, the IL Yanomami is the largest in Brazil and sprawls across the states of Roraima and Amazonas. There are 26,780 indigenous living on the reservation. Besides the Covid-19 pandemic, the Yanomami also face high incidence of malaria, a tropical disease endemic to the Amazon and transmitted by mosquitoes. Malaria is a comorbidity that increases the death rate for coronavirus among indigenous peoples. According to data from Condisi -Y, between January 1st and August 12th, 2020, over 13,000 cases of malaria were reported in the Yanomami indigenous lands, with 9 deaths. In August, the Pro-Yanomami and Ye’kwana Network, which is monitoring the pandemic inside the indigenous territory, informed that out of all Covid-19 confirmed deaths, three were also malaria patients.

The rise in malaria and Covid-19 cases is related to the invasion of illegal gold diggers, that promote deforestation and spread diseases. Around 20,000 illegal gold diggers have entered the reservation this year alone. In June, the campaign against gold digging at Yanomami lands, #ForaGarimpoForaCovid, was launched with the aim to gather 500,000 signatures. The initiative is a joint effort between ISA (Socio-Environmental Institute), Yanomami Leadership Forum and Ye’kwana; and from Hutukara Yanomami Association (HAY), Wanasseduume Ye’kwana Association (SEDUUME), Yanomami Kumirayoma Women Association (AMYK), Association Texoli Ninam from Roraima State (TANER) and Yanomami Association from Cauaburis river and Affluents (AYRCA).

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Covid-19: Secretary for Indigenous Health barrs humanitarian aid to Terena people

Terena Council is requesting MSF’s aid since June 24th

Credits: MSF/Handout/via Facebook

19 Aug 20

Covid-19: Secretary for Indigenous Health barrs humanitarian aid to Terena people

According to a public denounce  by the Indigenous People’s Network (APIB),  Robson Santos da Silva, national director for the Special Secretary for Indigenous Health (SESAI), has barred the organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) from fighting the Covid-19 spread at the Indigenous Land Taunay Ipegue, of the Terena people, in Aquidauana municipality, Mato Grosso do Sul State. The motivation behind the ban on MSF was not disclosed.

APIB states that there is a tragic rise in deaths among the Terena community  because of the disease – 580% in under a month – and that the villages are under “sanitary collapse”. MSF’s support has been a demand by the Terena Council since July 24th. By the end of that month, Covid-19 had killed six individuals. By August 19th, there were 41 dead and 1239 contaminated among the Terena people.

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Covid-19: Chief Aritana, indigenous leader of Amazon's Alto Xingu, dies at age 71

The Indigenous People Network lamented Aritana’s passing

Credit: Midia Ninja

5 Aug 20

Covid-19: Chief Aritana, indigenous leader of Amazon’s Alto Xingu, dies at age 71

Chief Aritana, of the Yawalapiti ethnicity, died from Covid-19, at age 71. He was an important and historic indigenous leader of Alto Xingu, Mato Grosso State in the Amazon. Aritana was hospitalized on June 19th, in Mato Grosso. By the end of the month, health officials transferred him to a hospital in Goiás State, with a severe health condition. Aritana’s  hospital transfer reflects the obstacles to access proper care for Covid-19 faced and denounced by indigenous groups in Mato Grosso State. 

Alongside Chief Raoni, Aritana gained nation-wide recognition because of his engagement in the struggle for land preservation and indigenous rights. Environmentalists and indigenous organizations manifested their mourning for the loss and paid homage after his passing.

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Covid-19: Meat processing plants at the root of outbreak in the Cerrado

First coronavirus cases in Dourados Indigenous Land came from a JBS meat processing factory

Credits: Handout

3 Jul 20

Covid-19: Meat processing plants at the root of outbreak in the Cerrado

The Public Prosecutor on Labour issues (MPT) of Mato Grosso do Sul State informed that mass testings done in meat processing plants belonging to JBS and BRF corporations located in the municipality of Dourados point to over 1,000 infected people among its employees.

 

The municipality is also home to the Dourados Indigenous Reservation (RID), the most populated indigenous reservation in the country, inhabited by 15,800 indigenous individuals. The first confirmed case in the reservation was of an indigenous woman who works at JBS. In May, independent media observatories, such as Agência Pública and De Olho Nos Ruralistas, had already informed that the JBS factory was a dangerous vector of Covid-19 transmission among the indigenous.

Agência Pública contacted JBS for a statement, who said that it “adopts a rigorous control and prevention protocol inside their units”. BRF, according to a UOL article, stated that it started voluntary adopting testing protocols to prevent the spread “and keep the operations running with safety.”

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Covid-19: Indigenous leader dies in Manaus from coronavirus

Messias Kokama suffered with the critical situation in Manaus public health system

Crédito: De Olho Nos Ruralistas/Handout

14 May 20

Covid-19: Indigenous leader dies in Manaus from coronavirus

Indigenous Chief Messias Kokama, leader and founder of the Parque das Tribos, in Manaus, Amazonas State, died because of Covid-19 complications. Kokama, 53, resisted going to the hospital — he was afraid of being infected with the virus. Amazonas State is under a critical health situation. During April, it had the highest coronavirus transmission  rate in the country.

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Covid-19: Medics attending indigenous people are not being properly tested

Federal government medical teams in attendance at Yanomami and Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Lands

Crédito: Defense Ministry/Federal Government

30 Apr 20

Covid-19: Medics attending indigenous people are not being properly tested

The medical staff of the Special Secretariat of Indigenous Health (Sesai), that provides health services to the indigenous populations, is not being properly tested for the new coronavirus.

The Sesai Special Sanitary Indigenous Districts received only a few rapid tests that don’t carry the necessary precision to detect the virus.

Professionals in the front-lines reported to Deutsche Welle that they feared being vessels of Covid-19 contamination at the indigenous territories. The Federal Attorney General Office (MPF) recommended that Sesai should provide PCR testing to all health workers before they enter indigenous regions. In response, Sesai alleged they do not have the capacity to provide testing kits.

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Covid-19: Yanomami teenager is the first deceased among Amazon indigenous peoples

Alvanei Xirixana Pereira lived in villa Rehebe, a route for gold diggers

Crédito: Handout

11 Apr 20

Covid-19: Yanomami teenager is the first deceased among Amazon indigenous peoples

The 15-year-old teenager Alvanei Xirixana Pereira, of the Yanomami group, is the first indigenous victim of the Covid-19 in Brazil. He died at the municipality of Alto Alegre, Roraima State. The Ministry of Health stated that it didn’t receive an official notification with the cause of death and that there are no registries of deaths by Covid-19 among the indigenous in the country so far.

According to the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, the Sanitary District Yanomami is at a high risk of infection because of its proximity with the non-indigenous society. The teenager lived at the Rehebe village, which is en route for gold-diggers entering indigenous lands. 

The Hutukara Yanomami Association criticized the large presence of miners in the region and accused the government of neglect while dealing with Alvanei. “He went to Roraima General Hospital with respiratory symptoms on 18th of March, but was only diagnosed on April 7th. Meanwhile, he was sick and didn’t receive proper care”, says the release.

The National Indigenous Foundation (Funai) said that it regretted the death and said that health teams are already on location to monitor new cases and isolate the group.

In the beginning of April, caiapó leaders in Turedjam, Pará State, drove away gold diggers from their village fearing the pandemic.

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Covid-19: Amazonas State has the highest transmission rate in Brazil

Burial at the cemetery Parque Tarumã, in Manaus.

Crédito: Amazônia Real/via Fotos Públicas

8 Apr 20

Covid-19: Amazonas State has the highest transmission rate in Brazil

The State of Amazonas, in the Amazon region, became the country’s region with the highest coronavirus transmission rate. After confirming the first Covid-19 case among indigenous, in Santo Antônio do Içá, the State rose from 260 positive cases to 804 in just a few days.Rosemary Pinto, director of the Foundation of Health Contro (FVS-AM), warned about the “boom” in Amazonas. The State’s health secretary said that the health system is limited and Delphina Assis Hospital received refrigerated containers to manage the bodies of the dead by the virus. In Santo Antônio do Içá, there are three contaminated indigenous individuals.

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Covid-19: First case confirmed among Amazon indigenous people

Medical staff arrives at Santo Antônio do Içá to monitor the situation

Crédito: Santo Antônio do Içá Health Department/Handout

31 Mar 20

Covid-19: First case confirmed among Amazon indigenous people

A 20 year old Kokama woman was the first diagnosed case of covid-19 among Amazon indigenous people. The Special Secretariat of Indigenous Health (Sesai) identified the case . The young woman lives in Santo Antônio do Içá, Amazonas State. The coordinator of Epidemiological Control of the municipality informed that people who had previous contact with her will be quarantined. Santo Antônio do Içá has 4 confirmed cases so far.

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After pressure, government backs off from changing indigenous health care

Indigenous protesters occupy State Congress in Amazonas

Crédito: Alberto César Araújo/Aleam/via Amazônia Real

28 Mar 19

After pressure, government backs off from changing indigenous health care

After pressure from indigenous groups protesting across Brazil, the Minister of Health stepped back and announced that SESAI (special  secretary on health services for indigenous people) would remain at federal level and continue to be operated by the Ministry of Health. The announcement came after a meeting between the Minister and representatives of indigenous groups in Brasilia, marking an important victory for the traditional communities.

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Indigenous groups protest in defense of health care

Avá-Guarani indigenous protesting in defense of indigenous health services

Credits: Paulina Martinez/via Cimi

25 Mar 19

Indigenous groups protest in defense of health care

Indigenous groups from different parts of Brazil carried protests over several days against the proposal to transfer the responsibility on Indigenous health services  (SESAI) from the Ministry of Health to state and city governments. Protests included roadblocks and occupation of public buildings. Indigenous groups also met in Brasilia and made a series of denunciations of lack of resources that put local services on a standstill.

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Indigenous Health under attack

Secretary of Indigenous Health may be shut down

Crédito: Laszlo Mates/iStock

18 Feb 19

Indigenous Health under attack

The Ministry of Health considers changing the public healthcare system that attends indigenous populations, transferring the responsibilities from the federal government to state and city governments. Since 2010, 305 Indigenous ethnic groups (more than 700,000 individuals) are under the care of SESAI (Special Secretary on Indigenous Health), which belongs to the Ministry of Health. The government plans included the closure of the special secretary and an investigation on the contracts between SESAI and NGOs that are hired to do some of the basic care attendance. Indigenous movements strongly criticized the proposal.

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