|PAHO/WHO Calls for Intensified Efforts to Protect the Health
and Rights of The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas|
Washington, D.C., 9 August 2012 (PAHO/WHO) - The Pan American
Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) today
commemorated the International Day of the World’s Indigenous
Peoples, calling for intensified efforts to protect the health
and defend the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.
These communities continue to face conditions of inequality and
inequity despite progress in political and social representation
and contributions from governments and agencies in the United
Nations and Inter-American systems aimed at supporting the human
rights and right to health of indigenous populations. Persistent
poverty and barriers to access to basic services and equal
opportunity impede sustainable development and economic and
social progress. PAHO/WHO underscores the need to address the
health problems of indigenous populations from a multisectoral
approach and with the express