May 24, 2021 Webinar | Vaccine Equity in Indigenous Communities
On May 24th, we were joined by indigenous leaders and leading health experts from three countries, Bolivia, Brazil, and the USA, to discuss COVID-19 vaccine equity in indigenous communities. Participants learned about how indigenous communities in different regions perceive the vaccine, how accessible the vaccine is to those communities, as well as the new direct and indirect threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. To watch the whole webinar, please click the “Vaccine Equity Webinar” button.
October 12, 2020 Webinar | The Pandemic and Other Threats to Indigenous Peoples in the Amazonian Rainforest
The COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately impacting the health, wellbeing, and livelihoods of over 476 million indigenous people in 90 countries. As the UN Secretary noted in early August: “Prior to the current pandemic, indigenous peoples already faced entrenched inequalities, stigmatization and discrimination. Inadequate access to health care, clean water and sanitation increases their vulnerability…. Lapsed enforcement of environmental protection during the crisis has brought increasing encroachment on indigenous peoples’ territories by illegal miners and loggers… Realizing the rights of indigenous peoples means ensuring their inclusion and participation in COVID-19 response and recovery strategies.” However, the lack of governmental support and the collapse of ecotourism and other income streams has placed additional pressures on indigenous communities in remote areas.
On October 12, 2020 we held a webinar to discuss how indigenous peoples in the Bolivian and Peruvian Amazon are responding to the COVID Pandemic and other threats to their communities. Please watch the watch to learn about the region and its people, how COVID has changed the way that people are currently living, key challenges going forward, and identify strategies to assist. Speakers include indigenous community members, a white water kayaker and film-maker, and experts in epidemiology, One Health/Ecohealth, global health, and anthropology.
Speakers:
Ruth Alipaz Cuqui | Indigenous Activist, Commonwealth and CONTIOCAP leader, and eco-tourism expert from the Uchupiamona community, Bolivia
Erika Alandia, DVM, MSc | Bolivian veterinarian, Agricultural Scientist, Food Security expert, and Natural Resources Manager. Coordinator for One Health projects at Fundacion Teko Kavi.
Olivia Carter-Pokras, PhD | Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. Global Health Lessons in Ecotourism and Community Health Bolivia Study Abroad leader. Hidden Crisis in Bolivia website host.
Carlos Castillo-Salgado, JD, MD, MPH, DrPH | Professor of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Guillermo Rodriguez Gomez | Medicinal plant expert (shaman), medicinal plants garden curator (arborist), and herpetologist assistant (naturalist guide), naturalist, linguist, and Peruvian Amazonian conversationist, member of the Ocaina and Bora peoples in Peru.
Michael Gurven, PhD | Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Chair of Integrative Anthropological Sciences, and an Area Director of the Biodemography section of the Broom Demography Center at UCSB.
Thomas C. Hilde PhD | Research Professor in the UMD School of Public Policy and Senior Fellow in the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and the Center for Global Sustainability (CGS).
Andrea Ottesen, PhD | Research Area Coordinator for Metagenomics at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in the Molecular Methods and Subtyping Branch of the Division of Microbiology. Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture at UMD.
Basilio Sahuarico Huayta | Peruvian Amazon Tour Guide and naturalist from the village of Padre Cocha on the Nanay River in Perú.
Hayley Stuart, Documentary filmmaker, director of Still River, Silent Jungle, international expedition planner, and river advocate. Hidden Crisis in Bolivia website Host.