Building intercultural health in Latin America. Advancing towards equity

Abstract

Important efforts have been made in Latin America to advance equity in health and address the inequalities faced by indigenous peoples. There are several international and regional commitments including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its objective of “leaving no one behind”. However, it has been important to strengthen the work with countries so that they recognize the need to adopt differentiated approaches that consider ethnic origin, not only from the perspective of the social determinants of health. Also, the value of culture, knowledge and traditions should be considered to advance the health situation of indigenous peoples.

Inequalities due to ethnic origin have become even more visible with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating consequences for many groups, including indigenous peoples. Through knowledge dialogues, or intercultural dialogues, it is possible to contribute to advances in achieving universal access to health and health coverage. PAHO is promoting efforts to implement this methodology in the field of health and generate intercultural minimums to advance towards equity.