WHO "deeply concerned" by Covid-19's impact on indigenous people in the Americas

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WHO "deeply concerned" by Covid-19's impact on indigenous people in the Americas 

From CNN's Mia Alberti

Indigenous nurses from the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (Sesai) of the Arapiuns ethnic group and Tapuia ethnic groups perform rapid COVID-19 testing on the banks of the lower Tapajos River in the municipality of Santarem in western Para on Sunday, July 19. Tarso Sarraf/AFP/Getty Images

Indigenous people in the Americas are especially vulnerable to Covid-19, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

"Although Covid-19 is a risk for all indigenous peoples globally, WHO is deeply concerned about the impact of the virus on indigenous peoples in the Americas which remains the current epicenter of the pandemic," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organization’s director-general. 

As of July 6, more than 70,000 indigenous people in the Americas had been infected with Covid-19 and more than 2,000 had died, according to WHO.

"Like other vulnerable groups, indigenous peoples face many challenges. This includes a lack of political representation, economic marginalization, and lack of access to health, education, and social services. Indigenous people often have a high burden of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, and communicable and incommunicable diseases, making them more vulnerable to Covid-19 and its serious outcomes," Tedros said.

Tedros said WHO is working with regional indigenous organizations in the Amazon river basin "to step up the fight against Covid-19" and urged governments to invest in contact tracing strategies.

"One of the key tools for suppressing transmission in indigenous communities and all communities is contact tracing. No country can take control of its epidemic if it doesn't know where the virus is," Tedros added.