Social impacts, exposure and resilience to the pandemic COVID-19 between Munduruku indigenous and traditional communities in the Brazilian Amazon (Pará)

Description of impact

Impact in two Amazon territories: 1) Emergency food provision to 170 families in Trobetas, Amazon; 2) Munduruku program to combat COVID-19 , which formed the basis of political pressure campaign directed at the State Governor and the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (Sesai ) and fundraising to complement the actions promoted by this project;Health equipment and information in association with Special Health for Indigenous Health District; traditional medicine workshops, radio transmission equipment, contribution to petitioned intervention to UN on and Inter American Court of Human Rights on rights of indigenous communities

Who is affected

African descendent, traditional and indigenous communities confronting Covid-19, large scale and illegal mining in the Amazon

Narrative

The project deals with 1) the diagnostic study of two cases in the Pará State of Amazon. The first occurs in the municipality of Oriximiná, on the banks of the Trombetas River, where several African lave descendent ‘quilombola’ communities are in a vulnerable situation after the first three cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed adjacent to Mineração Rio do Norte (MRN), the fourth largest bauxite producer in the world that sits only 500 meters from the community. At least 200 of the approximately 800 residents of the community work as outsourced employees of the mining company, performing the lowest paid tasks, such as cleaning and general services. Without access to electricity and basic sanitation, quilombolas are extremely vulnerable
2)The second case study take place on the Tapajós River, in the municipalities of Itaituba and Jacareacanga, where illegal activities of illegal ore and timber extraction are advancing on indigenous Munduruku territories and the traditional riverside community of Montanha and Mangabal, bringing serious risks to their health. On March 26, the first case was confirmed in Itaituba, the city closest to eight Munduruku villages and the Montanha and Mangabal Agroextractive Settlement Project, and where two urban villages are located. Since then, confirmed cases have been growing at a worrying rate. The municipality has only one single ICU bed with a mechanical respirator. Jacareacanga, the other city in Pará that is home to more than 14,000 Munduruku, is 400 km away from Itaituba and has no ICU bed. The research aims, above all, to understand the current situation, and foster resistance strategies to COVID-19, promote territorial protection and a health security strategy co-developed with these peoples and communities in this emergency situation. This includes the strengthening of their traditional practices and food security; sharing and co-developing knowledge in the virus and local resistance strategy; informing and intervening on public policies and state resources. This threefold approach seeks to contribute to the reduction of the economic and social impacts generated by C ovid -19 and to the development and community well-being in these and similarly afflicted communities.

Impact status	Closed
Impact date	15 May 2020 → 31 Jul 2020
Category of impact	!!Social impacts, Health and welfare - new products, guidelines and services
Impact level	Benefit