PRESS
RELEASE

Agreement Signed To Improve Sanitary Conditions in Indigenous Communities

Washington, DC, July 16, 2003 (PAHO)—The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Germany’s Technical Cooperation Agency have agreed to work together to improve the quality of life of indigenous communities in 15 countries of the Americas.

The German agency, known as GTZ, will contribute 747,000 Euros (approximately $971,000) to improve water supplies and sanitary conditions in communities of: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.

The partnership between PAHO and Germany began in 1999, when a first agreement was signed to design a program for sanitary improvement at the regional and national levels. In that first stage national working groups were created to strengthen national responses.

During this second phase of the project the goal is to reduce the risk of communicable diseases caused by environmental factors, especially lack of access to drinking water, inadequate sanitary conditions, and poor hygiene habits. Work will focus on cutting gastrointestinal infections and parasitic diseases, which are among the leading causes of death in children under 5 years old.

The agreement was signed by PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses and German Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger.

The indigenous population of Latin America and the Caribbean fluctuates between 45 and 50 million people, and 90 percent of them live in Central America and in the Andean countries. In the United States, the indigenous population is about 1.6 million people and in Canada it is about half a million. The countries with the most indigenous communities are Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru, and Ecuador, with percentages that reach 70 percent.

Most indigenous populations in the Americas live in conditions of extreme poverty and high vulnerability. According to PAHO’s publication Health in the Americas, 80 percent of the indigenous population of Peru is poor, in comparison with 50 percent of the non-indigenous population.

Social exclusion of indigenous groups is not limited to developing countries. In the United States, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services, the per capita income of indigenous peoples and natives of Alaska is extremely low, in comparison with $24,000 per capita income among whites.

According to PAHO, reductions in existing gaps through programs such as the one being carried out with Germany will help improve health conditions and contribute to reversing the historical process of discrimination and exclusion these population groups have suffered.

PAHO was established in 1902 and is the oldest public health organization in the world. It works with the countries of the Americas to improve health and quality of life for all their peoples. It also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization.