Community health agents from the Amazon region of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Suriname participated in the 2nd International Meeting of Community Health Agents of the Amazon: “Our Health, Our Territory”, in Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios region, Peru.
This meeting aimed at creating dialogue, and knowledge generation and exchange to support the work of these agents and ensure constant actions against diseases that affect the indigenous peoples of the Amazon region, such as Covid-19 vaccination.
More than 50 health agents participated in this second meeting, which was organized and coordinated by the following institutions: the Peruvian Ministry of Health (MINSA for its acronym in Spanish), the Ministry of Culture (MINCUL for its acronym in Spanish), Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios (UNAMAD) and the Native Federation of the Madre de Dios and Affluent Rivers (FENAMAD for its acronym in Spanish).
The meeting was officially opened Julio Mendigure, Director of Indigenous Peoples of the Peruvian Ministry of Health. Mendigure thanked all for attending and recognized the importance of the role of community health workers during the pandemic: “The Indigenous Peoples were the ones who fought the pandemic, and the community agents were essential in saving thousands of lives as they were the communities’ ears and eyes.”; and he added: “May the health of the Indigenous Peoples be at the Forefront of our conversations”.
The indigenous leader of FENAMAD, Ruth Vanessa Racua, considered this moment ideal to have this exchange of experiences and knowledge as health always come first: “She invited the authorities of the institutions and allies to continue strengthening the community health agents in the fight against this disease which is still taking the lives of many indigenous brothers and sisters.”
