Technical Mission to the Ese Eja people visits the community of Palma Real, in the Madre de Dios Region

Within the framework of the project ” Contingency Plan for the Protection of Health in Highly Vulnerable Indigenous Peoples and in Initial Contact” a technical mission is being carried out to the Ese Eja people, in the Madre de Dios Region, Peru, Palma Real native communities and Sonene, area of ​​the Bajo Madre de Dios  River.

The mission, composed of the project coordinator, Carlos Macedo, and representatives of the Ministries of Health and Culture, the Regional Health Directorate (Diresa) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), arrived on Sunday, 07/24, in the community of Palma Real, in the Madre de Dios region, near the Tambopata National Reserve, Peru.

This community has a population of about 450 people belonging to the Ese Eja people, of the Takana linguistic family. Upon arrival, the delegation was received by the president of the Ese Eja Nation, Cesar Augusto Yojajé, by the prosecutor Isabel Mechi and by the head of the health post, Theysi Carpio Silva. On the occasion, the members of the mission learned about the structure of the local “Tambo”, which is a base that offers services to address health, social and environmental issues in the community. 

The representatives of the Ministries of Health and Culture recorded the difficulties in the operation of these services and met with the population to listen about the health situation, led by the president of the commune, Ricardo Yojaje. 

In addition, a survey was conducted on the existing infrastructure and the difficulties presented, in order to analyze the possibilities of support for a rapid response to some of its technological shortcomings, including the strengthening of the energy supplier.

In relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, the community was severely affected and had to resist the situation basically with traditional medicine and the ancestral knowledge of the community members.

For his part, the Diresa representative, Gustavo Andia Choque, expressed his concern about the situation at the health post and promised to verify the resources available in his administration in Puerto Maldonado for a rapid reaction to the situation and the lack of permanent health personnel.

At the end of the meeting, an evaluation of the visit was made and the following day the visit continued to the Sonene community located on the Bajo Madre de Dios river, on the border with Bolivia.