Impacto de la Crisis Sanitaria en Colombia Causada por el COVID -19, Sobre los Pueblos Indígenas, Desde el Enfoque Diferencial Étnico y de Derechos Humanos - 2022

Abstract

The objective of this study is to identify the impact of the health crisis in Colombia, caused by COVID-19 on indigenous peoples, from a differential ethnic and human rights approach. It focuses especially on the universal and fundamental right to health, since it is intended to make visible the existing gaps, on the guarantee of this and other social, economic, and cultural rights, considering that the state has the duty to respect, protect and guarantee them progressively. This research was developed, under the methodological strategy of the case study, in two (2) indigenous communities of the Embera Dóbida People, located in the municipality of Bajo Baudó - Chocó, with a sample of 109 families, 494 people. In this process, a documentary analysis and approaches to the target population were carried out, to define the situation of the context in which the indigenous population settled in the communities of Villa Nueva and Nucidè lives. respectively, as well as the effects generated from the COVID -19 pandemic, derived from the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and before the decision of the national government to decree mandatory preventive isolation, as a measure to prevent contagion, as of March 24, 2020, without considering the existing particularities. It is corroborated that: the pandemic generated by COVID-19 in Colombia, disproportionately and differentially impacted the ethnic population of the country, mainly in that population that is in dispersed contexts, in a situation of high vulnerability and with evident structural gaps. In the present study, situations are related that, based on the evidenced realities, During and after the health emergency, they are considered fundamental when guiding public policies of the State, with a differential approach (age, gender and diversity) that can guarantee the effective enjoyment of human rights in a timely manner and under conditions of equality, to the entire population residing in the Colombian territory and especially to those who, for some reason, are in the midst of difficult social environments, under recurrent and systematic violations of human rights (life, liberty, integrity and security) in the context of the internal armed conflict. The above, as a measure also oriented to prevention and protection. In this sense, state interventions should also be aimed at enhancing individual and collective capacities (durable solutions) for the mitigation of risks against new or future health emergencies, reducing their impact in case they arise. One of the gaps that need to be analyzed is the need to make effective and expand communication channels or digitization and the Internet, including accessibility and quality of connectivity, strengthen the health network and preventive health, without ignoring ancestral practices that also save lives, related issues related to the local and national economy, among others. This document also presents observations regarding the institutional gaps in Colombia related to inclusion and inequality. The results shown will help to understand the situation of the ethnic population in the department of Chocó, leaving an open window to continue researching on the subject, and positively influence the adoption of legal and constitutional measures from state institutions. Key words: Human rights – health, COVID – 19, ethnic population, vulnerability, institutional gaps, Colombian state, department of Chocó, guarantees.