Yanomami: Over 5 thousand medical consultations held in one month
More than 5 thousand medical consultations have been carried out with the Yanomami people since it was declared public health emergency of national importance in the indigenous territory located in the west of Roraima and north of Amazonas, in North Brazil. The figure was published Monday (Feb. 20) by the Ministry of Health.
The medical care is being provided in facilities located in the Yanomami indigenous territory and in hospitals in state capital Boa Vista.
Among the health problems faced by the Yanomami are malaria, acute diarrhea, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and malnutrition, many of the cases affecting children.
Brazil’s Health Ministry reports it has sent 103 agents from the National Force of the country’s Unified Health System SUS to serve the Yanomami since the beginning of the emergency situation. They have also delivered 5.5 thousand emergency food baskets.
A total of 12.6 thousand baskets are expected to be delivered monthly, serving 21 thousand people across 282 communities prioritized for facing food insecurity.
Approximately 14.3 thousand diagnostic tests for malaria and more than 240 thousand medicines to treat the disease were sent to the are. Around 20 thousand doses of the bivalent shot against COVID-19 have been assigned to the Yanomami people, whose immunization should start next Saturday (25).
