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Millennium Development
Goals
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK:
an Indigenous Peoples
PERSPECTIVE
STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS
FORTHE ACHIEVEMENTOF
THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
IN AREAS INHABITED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK:
AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
PERSPECTIVE
STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS
FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT OF
THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
IN AREAS INHABITED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Pan AmetrnsaEra
Health
Organization
Regional Office of (he
World Health Organization
6©
Prepared by:
Dr. Nina Pacari
Luz Marina Vega C. MD
Consultants
Decentralized Health System of Cotacachi, Ecuador
Technical Advisers:
Jose Luis Di Fabio. PhD
Manager, Technology, Health Care and Research Area
PAHO/WHO
Rocio Rojas, MD
Regional Adviser on Health of Indigenous Peoples
Technology, Health Care and Research Area
PAHO/WHO
We thank the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for
the financial support, translation, and printing of this document.
Health of Indigenous Peoples Regional Programme
Technology, Health Care and Research Area
Pan American Health Organization
World Health Organization
525 23rd Street NW
Washington, DC 20037
Quito, March 2009
Editors:
Ms. Martha Fuertes. PAHO/WHO
Ms. Geovanna Villacis, PAHO/WHO
Design: Veronica Vargas, verova@gmail.com
Printing: Nuevo Arte
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD................................................................................... 10
INTRODUCTION
Setting the context for the Millennium Development Goals from
the Indigenous Peoples' Perspective............................................... 14
CHAPTER I
ANALYSIS OF THE
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
1.1 Target 1:
Halve the proportion of people whose income is less than one
dollar a day.......................................................................................... 12
1.2 Target 2:
Halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger........................ 22
1.3 Target 3:
Ensure that children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able
to complete a full course of primary schooling................................ 25
1.4 Target 4:
Eliminate genderdisparityin primary and secondary education,
preferably by 2005, and at all levels of education no later than
2015...................................................................................................... 28
1.5 Targets:
Reduce, by two thirds the under-five mortality rate......................... 31
1.6 Target 6:
Reduce by three quarters, the maternal mortality ratio by 2015.... 35
1.7 Target 7:
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS...37
FOREWORD
FOREWORD
I he fifth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues (2006), made several recommendations
explicitly commenting on the Millennium Development
Goals: “During the dialogue with indigenous peoples on
the Millennium Development Goals, many indigenous
organizations made statements about the urgent need
to redefine the Goals. While the Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues appreciates that it may not be possible
to redefine the Goals, it also recognizes that there is a
clear need to redefine approaches to the implementation
of the Goals so as to include the perspectives, concerns,
experiences and world views of indigenous peoples.
Statements also confirmed that there was a need for
indigenous peoples to provide their own definitions of
poverty and development and that there should be full
and effective participation of indigenous peoples in the
implementation of the Goals".
Within this context, the current document contributes to the
discussion on how to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals from the perspective of indigenous peoples.
While this document might not fully reflect the rationale,
worldviews and approaches of all indigenous peoples,
who have their own specific circumstances, identities
and needs (the Kichwas in the Andean territories and the
Kichwas in the Amazon region will face different needs
and resort to different solutions to overcome poverty), it
provides an insight into their shared ideologies and views of
the world. One such earthly view of the of the world is the
Pachamama, the territory which is seen and felt as a vital
element in the development of indigenous peoples, in a
harmonious relationship between nature and runa (human
being), and governed by the principles of sumac kawsay
(living well). According to this view of the world, the rights
1 1
—3
INTRODUCTION
~3
INTRODUCTION
=4
SETTING THE CONTEXT FOR
—
THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
FROM INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ PERSPECTIVE
“3
-—J
The beginning of a new millennium marked the renewed
i
a
3
.3
““
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,s
interest from Heads of State and Governments in highlighting
the central issues of their political agendas and actions.
The leading global goals such as peace, security,
disarmament,
poverty
eradication,
sustainable
development,
democracy and good governance,
amongst others, as identified in the eight Millennium
Development Goals remain from lack of an in-depth
analysis of the underlying structural causes and inequity.
Thus, the inconsistency between the content of a goal
which aims to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and
one of its targets which seeks to “halve the proportion of
people whose income is less than one dollar a day" in a
clear allusion to extreme poverty.
The Millennium Declaration stresses the asymmetries
between and within States. It points out that “Human
beings must respect one other, in all their diversity of belief,
culture, and language". The principle of cultural diversity is
conspicuously absent, in spite of the commitment according
to which "A culture of peace and dialogue among all
civilizations should be actively promoted", together with
inclusion- understood as the inclusion of those that have
been excluded, indigenous peoples amongst others.
millennium development goals, an indigenous peoples perspective
Lili
UH1
The references found in the Millennium Declaration do not
go beyond reiterated anthropologic concepts and this is
reflected in the identification of the Millennium targets.
It is not surprising, therefore, that when addressing the
Millennium Development Goals, the fourth session of the
United Nation Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (2005),
stated that “The Forum notes with concern that indigenous
issues are often absent from Millennium Development Goals
and poverty reduction processes, and from Millennium
Development Goals reports and poverty reduction strategy
papers”. At its fifth session (2006), the Forum made specific
recommendations urging countries to undertake national
processes to implement the Millennium Development
Goals with the full and effective participation of indigenous
peoples.
A reflection that can have an impact on change and in
broadening different approaches, particularly regarding
targets and strategies, is related to the fact that “Indigenous
peoples have the right to benefit from the Millennium
Development Goals and from other goals and aspirations
contained in the Millennium Declaration to the same extent
as all others"'. From the perspective of indigenous peoples,
the core issue is the type of development that should be
promoted in order to transcend the "anti - poverty” or
“poverty eradication" discourse that fails to address structural
problems.
1 Recommendations made by the fourth session of the United Nations
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Nuevo York, 2005.
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ANALY5I5OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
CHAPTER I
ANALYSIS OF
THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
Goal 1:
. “ radicate extreme poverty and hunger
1.1 Target 1:
Halve the proportion of people whose income
is less than one dollar a day.
This target would be impossible to achieve if the beneficiaries
are not clearly and unmistakably identified, with due
consideration of the multicultural nature of our societies
worldwide. If the need to respect cultural diversity is stressed
but not the guiding principle of all projects and programmes.
failure will ensue and resources will be lost or jeopardized.
To avoid this and as a starting point, countries should do away
with the remnants of colonial times. One of these tendencies
is the persistent tendency to homogenise - in this case poor
people and those who suffer from hunger, dismissing the fact
that they are the bearers of a culture and deserve respect.
Any programme designed to meet their needs should,
therefore, be adapted to their cultural identity.
millennium development goals. an indigenous peoples perspective
According to the World Bank, indigenous peoples are the
poorest of the poor. It might not be enough to achieve
salary recovery and a stable economy, with reduced
inflation and macroeconomic stability, in a world where
indigenous peoples still live within community systems, free
from bureaucratic dependency, in almost autonomous
local micro economies. It is definitely not enough in a
world where they still bear the sequels of usurpation in
such obvious realities as the refusal to establish policies to
provide access to or the legal ownership over lands which
are, nonetheless, considered indigenous territories, or in the
absence of policies which would foster real and culturally
appropriate development, as well as indigenous peoples
right to historical continuity.
The parameters used to define poverty differ. While for
States and under MDG 1, extreme poverty encompasses
individuals whose income is less than a dollar per day; for
indigenous peoples, the notion of poverty (huaccha) is
linked to the lack of land to work on, the loss of culturally
appropriate quality food, a linguistic loss which undermines
further knowledge development, and the exclusion from
decision-making processes. In other words, the charitable
and quantified vision intended to take care of persons who
live on less than a dollar a day is far removed from the reality
of indigenous peoples who live in exclusion and poverty.
The homogenised notion and strategy devised to help the
“poorest of the poor” ultimately violates the rights to which
they are entitled.
Thus, States,
national and
international
agencies,
cooperation agencies and the United Nations should be
responsible for the collection of statistical data broken down
in correlation with the cultural diversity principle since we live
in pluri- cultural societies. This also implies the need to create
new culturally appropriate indicators that would enable
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT COALS TARGETS
the identification of the actual conditions of indigenous and
non-indigenous populations living in poverty and extreme
poverty. A comparative chart of national and sub-national
data where inequity gaps are identified could be a useful
tool in identifying priorities and fostering the adequate and
appropriate implementation of participatory programs and
projects conducive to the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals.
Furthermore, all simplistic approaches must be avoided if
the goals are to be attained. It is not enough to establish a
correlation between economic growth rates and income
redistribution in order to obtain an average rate of annual
income growth per capita. Simulation models based on
pessimist, moderate or optimist scenarios of economic
growth rate, with no intervention on inequity patterns, will
inevitably result in averages that hide the concentration of
income in a few hands.
In the case of Ecuador, the MDG implementation report
for 2005 acknowledges that even with high economic
growth scenarios, the country will be unable to meet the
proposed targets2. In a fleeting statement in the same
document, however, it is stated that these targets could
be achieved if “political actions were to be simultaneously
undertaken to reduce the concentration of income".
The question then would be, what are we waiting for to
adopt such measures? Addressing structural issues and
the implementation of the cultural diversity principle are
elements of paramount importance in the achievement of
the Millennium Development Goals.
2 According to the 2005 MDG Report surveys on living conditions indicate
that extreme poverty in Ecuador increased from 13% to 15.5% between
1995 and 1999 A 50% reduction to 7.7% could not be achievable even
under the most optimistic scenario for economic growth
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
It could be said that a general rule seems to have emerged
in which “a greater redistributive effort is required with lesser
per capita income growth”. In other words, this same rule
could imply that “less redistributive effort is required with
greater economic growth”. This would seem logical and
consistent. Nonetheless, such rationale would tend to
preserve poverty compounded with a highly discriminatory
content. In order to achieve the first Millennium Development
Goal, the right path would be to opt for the rule of the
greatest effort, otherwise, all policies or actions aimed at
achieving that Goal, as assessed from the perspective
of indigenous peoples, would be tarnished with inequity,
injustice, discrimination and non- compliance.
1.2 Goal 2:
Halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
It has been rightly acknowledged that poverty and
malnutrition go hand in hand, but the current approach
to this problem is still partial and unstructured. It does
not deal with the root causes of poverty and hunger. In
the case of indigenous populations, an approach that
divides the ayllu (family- community) is unconceivable.
When it is stated that “malnutrition affects mainly
rural and indigenous populations” and the target
groups for remedial actions are children between
two and five years old, there is a whole malnourished
demographic group, such as pregnant women, elderly
and disabled people who are excluded from this.
ANALYSIS Of THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
The ayllu concept imposes global and comprehensive
actions to benefit all members of the family or community.
In an approach intended to encompass all parts of a unit
and to solve malnutrition it is not appropriate to implement
training programs only on breastfeeding and child nutrition,
or nutrition in general, or to provide enriched food with
vitamins and micronutrients. That vision of the problem
further increases hunger and dependency.
In Latin America in general, and Ecuador in particular,
government programs are both “focalised” and temporary.
When resources run out, so do programs. In the specific case
of indigenous peoples, hunger and dependency are further
exacerbated due to the fragmentation of the ayllu.
Many may question the kind of action that should be taken.
Indigenous people consider that malnutrition will remain
a problem for as long as they are denied access to legal
tenure or ownership of land and territories, as well as to
culturally relevant credit policies and support to strengthen
their knowledge and technologies. Consequently, from
the holistic and interrelated view of the world of indigenous
peoples, any action in this field should be linked to an indepth land reform that contemplates land handovers
and access to preferential credit, taking into account
indigenous peoples cultural codes, as their contribution to
this economic and financial sector.
Likewise, feeding and nutrition programs intended for
two to five year olds, or school breakfast and lunch
programs that are not culturally relevant, could, in
fact, exacerbate child malnutrition. A case in point
is the negative impact of the equivocal notion of
modernity in indigenous communities; for example, the
generalised use of noodles to replace traditional products
such as quinoa, beans, peas and wheat, amongst
others. For example, modernity has been associated
23
."ILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT COALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
to the incorporation of chemicals to obtain "increasingly
abundant" crops, the use of inadequate technology that
has ultimately eroded farmlands, and the single crop policy
to serve and control domestic and international markets.
The “beneficiaries” of all this have accumulated extensive
fortunes and brought certain States to their knees. They have
a name: transnational corporations that concentrate wealth
and have contributed to changing our feeding habits with
an adverse effect leading to malnutrition. In Ecuador, for
instance, flour imports were promoted to the extent that
wheat farms have virtually disappeared, though the trade
of this product is controlled by transnational corporations.
Structural weaknesses are at the heart of the problem by
freely allowing wealth concentration. In Leonardo Boff's
words, "If we want to become rich and hoard... there is no
point in seeking advice from indigenous peoples; however,
if we want to be happy and bring humans beings closer
to the divine, to integrate persons (society), and nature, to
make work compatible with leisure, to harmonize relations
between generations... then we should talk to them".
Something similar happens with programs designed to
“improve access to and quality of health services” in order
to eradicate poverty. Accessibility is not the only aspect
to be considered, neither is the "quality" of services, which
ultimately violates the rights of indigenous peoples since
they ignore the fact that in these differentiated societies
health encompasses both an internal and external balance
(the harmonious coexistence of human beings and nature),
together with the strengthening of their health systems and
the appreciation of their own health workers/promoters.
For as long as a health system with a pluri-cultural approach
closely linked to land use, food and education is not
implemented, it would be impossible to achieve the MDG
second target related to the reduction of hunger and
malnutrition.
analysis of the millennium development goals targets
Goal 2:
yE^chieve universal primary education
1.3 Target 3
Ensure that children everywhere, boys and girls
alike, will be able to complete a full course
of primary schooling
In principle, this target identifies education parameters of
the Western world but fails to take into account cultural
diversity. Access to education is positively emphasised but
just for a number of years of basic education in isolation
from other education levels. Furthermore, curriculum for
those years does not contemplate any intercultural type of
education for the student population as a whole, in order
to lay the foundations of a respectful society where all
rational approaches could be freely exercised. This would
demonstrate the democratization of a culturally relevant
type of education.
In acknowledging the “deterioration of schooling system
efficiency", we must single out the following determining
factors, among others: curricula contents are not adapted
to realities, education models are copied or imposed,
J.ENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
education is not based on local cultures nor on ancestral
knowledge, teachers are unfamiliar with their teaching
environment, texts are either translated or adapted and
do not incorporate codes found in multicultural societies.
For indigenous peoples, the schooling age (10 years)
to complete a full cycle of basic education is relative.
Indigenous children’s first learning environment is their
daily coexistence with their mothers; their contact with
their surroundings is an exercise of knowledge in action. In
other words, while Western education trains people with
an egocentric bias, dissociated from their “being" and
"existing", indigenous peoples education is geared towards
a more dynamic type of learning based on “being while
existing". The key elements in knowledge development
through the education and learning process (existing, being,
doing) are present in five essential components: yachai
(knowledge related to epistemology), munai (love, related
to passion and intuition), rurai (action that implies direct
living experience and building), ushai (power equivalent to
potency, strength and energy) and kausai (life: beginning
and end; what ends gives way to a beginning). In sum,
this type of learning aims at recuperating, valuing and
consolidating ancestral knowledge without dismissing
knowledge from other cultures. The following levels of
learning are observed:
...
.
26
Learn to think while doing things in community
(theory and practice);
Learn to learn;
Learn to un-learn and re-learn;
Learn to undertake;
Learn throughout life.
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
From indigenous peoples' perspective on education, it will
not be possible to attain this target as proposed. Indigenous
peoples' conception of education transcends the notions
of age groups, a complete cycle of basic education,
investment per capita in education, quality of education
and expenditure, infrastructure, budget orruralisation, under
which it is intended to categorize indigenous peoples.
Hence the queries associated with the idea of "literacy
campaigns for young mothers, in rural areas, to raise their
awareness regarding the importance of their children's
education"3 . Are all young mothers in rural areas members
of indigenous communities? Would it be enough to
increase their awareness regarding the importance of
education when no cultural codes have been considered?
When no proper conditions have been provided as far as
infrastructure, equipment or roads are concerned? That is,
when the campaign has been designed in isolation from
rural realities and even more so from indigenous peoples
realities.
Furthermore, the investment -and non “expenditure”,
approach to education must incorporate several factors:
the national implementation of an intercultural education
policy; the incorporation of adequate multicultural
pedagogic methods and of native languages where
indigenous students are represented; the reallocation of
budgetary resources with an ethnic and cultural focus in
order to achieve a comprehensive model of education
linked to the social, economic, productive, ethnic and
cultural aspects of life; as well as the incorporation of handson knowledge of indigenous peoples in textbooks. Once
again, the principle of cultural diversity emerges as a must if
the MDGs in this field are to be achieved.
3 This is one of the challenges included by the Government of Ecuador in the
2005 progress report on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
under Target 3. this is, "Ensure that, by 2015. children everywhere, boys and girls
alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling/lOyears).
27
ILLENNtUM DEVELOPMENTGOALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
Goal 3:
Promote gender equality and
empower women
1.4 Target 4
Eliminate gender disparity in primary
and secondary education, preferably by 2005,
and in all levels of education no later than 2015
Unfortunately, gender equity has also been undermined
amongst indigenous peoples either through their own
practices or due to the colonizing processes. In the
past, indigenous women and men suffered from the
lack of access to formal education. Knowledge was,
nonetheless, transmitted on the basis of cultural codes
and strategies adopted by indigenous peoples. Once
the right to bilingual and/or intercultural education was
determined an established right, access to education
for indigenous men and women increased. However,
indigenous women have had to overcome more hurdles
in the access to both formal and bilingual intercultural
education due to structural factors associated with
discrimination and a weakened exercise of the duality
-complementarity principle (man - woman) as the
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT COALS TARGETS
pillar of the ayllu, which has introduced imbalances in
gender relations.
In the case of indigenous peoples, genderequity consecrated
as “equal opportunities and rights” is not enough. The
recognition of the man/woman balance, or kari/warmi,
leads us back to a key concept in indigenous rationality:
the runa. For Kichwa peoples, "runa” is a concept that
refers to the individual, the human, cosmic being, strongly
linked to the Mother Earth or Pachamama, which beyond
individual subjects, is a reference to the community and
the people. Hence, “runa-kai" is the concept that defines
and identifies the community collective subject, the ayllu.
The “complementary duality" principle, or kariwarmikai,
in indigenous wisdom, means that the presence of an
opposite invariable entails the presence of the other pole.
Thus, opposites are complementary and not necessarily
contradictory in nature. In other words, complementary
opposites make up a whole, complete and comprehensive
unit, where differing elements play a role in achieving a
balanced internal coexistence.
This explains why, in the Kichwa (Inca) view of the world, at
the origin of humanity we find Manco Capac and Mama
Ocllo as the man/woman pair, each distinct in nature but
complementary to one another, and jointly responsible for
consolidating the balance between human beings, nature
and society. Consequently, it is not merely the search for
equal opportunities or gender equity as it is a competition
between two individuals.
29
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
From this perspective, a step forward would include
the recovery, consolidation and re-creation of the
indigenous philosophy through which the implementation
of dissemination strategies incorporate the conceptual
framework on gender equity. Any gender focus
incorporated as a cross-cutting component in public
policies, academic analysis or in the implementation of
social and economic policies mustconsiderthe underlying
philosophy of gender equity as perceived in the indigenous
view of the world. This, combined with budgets prepared
with gender, ethnic and cultural awareness, and culturally
relevant indicators to break down data will provide
us with the first result: a real picture of our multicultural
societies and the identification of adequate targets and
strategies to be achieved and implemented with and
within indigenous peoples.
30
ANALYSIS Of THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
Goal 4:
Reduce child mortality
1.5 Target 5:
Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015,
the under-five mortality rate.
Goal 5:
| mprove maternal health
1.6 Target 6:
Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015,
the maternal mortality ratio
It should be stressed that, for indigenous peoples, land is a
space intimately linked to the human condition as social
beings. Land is where the social, legal and organizational
foundations of the individual and collective entity are rooted
and expressed in their view of the world regarding life, health,
illness, well-being, etc. By dispossessing indigenous peoples
from their territories, their full development was thwarted,
leading them to extreme levels of poverty once their land
was no longer the essential component of individual and
collective well-being. Deprived of land, indigenous people
experienced poverty. Poverty is a determining factor in child
and maternal mortality. These are not isolated facts but rather
a consequence of past actions.
v.CTENNIU.'A DEVELOPMENT GOALS, AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
Over five centuries have passed since the Americas were
invaded. As a result, though indigenous peoples in Ecuador
view health and wellness as the balanced coexistence of
runa (human beings) with themselves, others, nature and
the cosmos, this collective view of the world shared by
nearly 35% of the Ecuadorian population, has been unable
to influence the institutional health care model. Under this
model, human beings are the sum of several fragments
(eyes, brain, nose, heart...). When affected by illnesses,
the specific fragments are treated. That is how extremely
important programmes dealing with free child and mother
care, epidemiological surveillance, nutrition for under
five year olds and others issues, work in isolation, with no
integration or structured links between them. Consequently,
such interventions are counterproductive, particularly
when they involve indigenous peoples. They contribute to
the ayllu’s disintegration (there is no comprehensive family
care; only sick members are treated); nutrition habits and
culture are disrupted with the use of fortified flours instead
of locally grown food with high nutritional content, and any
treatment is exclusively given to a sick person with the usual
recommendation from physicians and nurses to "keep
it for yourself and beware not to give it to any brothers
or sisters". Such interventions generate dependency as
indigenous peoples gradually loose, forget or abandon
their knowledge and demand the “miracle flour" which
does not always arrive and the malnourished relapse into
their initial lack of adequate nutrients.
In addition, health programmes are designed for
concentrated urban populations. When planning for
programmes, projects or activities, State institutions
responsible for public health protection (MOH) do not
take into account the geographic space of indigenous
3T
ANALYSIS Of THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
peoples' settlements. Most of them ore located on
mountain-tops or foothills, exposed to freezing cold winds,
on arid soils, accessible only by a few dirt roads that
remain blocked or closed to traffic during many months
of the year. In the case of indigenous peoples living in the
Amazon Region, their means of access and transport are
either canoes or motor planes which are far too expensive.
The truth is that when a pregnant woman requires help in a
complicated childbirth, or a child needs emergency care
the patient's parents, husbands, wives or relatives must
walk 4 or 5 hours, or cross dangerous rivers to reach the
nearest health centre. When and if individuals manage to
surmount these difficulties, they are welcomed at public
health services with accusations and are often mistreated.
Also, poor families cannot afford to pay for emergency
health care. This clearly explains why mother and child
mortality rates and other indicators are significantly higher
in provinces with a greater concentration of indigenous
populations.
If we refer back to indigenous peoples’ concept of health
and well-being, the ideal solution would be to incorporate
the balance in the design of health projects and
programmes. This would enable comprehensive, timely,
family, community and intercultural health care.
•
All health programmes should encompass the ayllu
(not only individual patients) and the community.
(Family health history).
•
Work in the community and its surroundings should
be coordinated with and have the commitment
of other sectors: roads, environmental sanitation,
housing, agricultural production, irrigation, transport,
environment and others.
33
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
Recuperate and integrate indigenous peoples'
knowledge, practices and wisdom on health
matters in the Ecuadorian government health
programmes.
• Design and implement an ambulatory health
system consistent with the reality of indigenous
peoples' locations, which incorporate indigenous
and community talent.
• Design and implement a timely emergency care
system with the inclusion of community human
resources who would provide support and act as
liaisons.
• Involve community councils in health care actions.
This shared management with community leaders
will gain political support for health programmes
and will foster community empowerment over
their individual and collective health.
• Incorporate in health care protocols, standards,
procedures and rules, and elements consistent
with indigenous peoples cultural diversity (vertical
childbirth, infusions, appropriate clothing to
protect women’s modesty, family support, to
mention a few). Numerous current initiatives
provide intercultural health services.
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPA\ENT GOALS TARGETS
Goal 6:
ombat HIV/AIDS, malaria
and other diseases
1.7 Target 7:
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse
the spread of HIV/AIDS
HlV/AIDS, more than any other disease, is intimately related
to individual and collective behaviours, attitudes, practices,
values and views of the world regarding life, health or illness.
This is true to such an extent that UNAIDS recommends
taking into account these aspects in the development of
strategies to avoid the spread of the disease.
Notwithstanding
these
recommendations,
actions
undertaken by public institutions (MOH), non-profit private
organizations (NGOs), or private for profit organizations
fail to include the principle of cultural diversity. Their
programmes, activities, plans or projects often homogenize
all information and standardize procedures, protocols and
rules related to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. This
approach to the problem has contributed to replicating
inequalities and perpetuating inequity in health care and
lack of access to education and training in HIV/AIDS for
indigenous peoples.
Throughout the complete cycle of actions related to
HIV/AIDS, the design and implementation phases must
include the participation of indigenous peoples. In other
words, sexual and reproductive rights, HIV/AIDS, and
other related issues, must be approached from the
perspective of the ethnic ownership of an individual who.
35
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
at the same time, belongs to a collective entity (kichwa,
shuar, achuar community), because cultural frameworks are
relevant in the full development of individual lives.
Furthermore, knowledge and information sources must be
democratised (design of information, communication and
education programmes) and indigenous peoples must be
involved in decision-making on “what should be said, taught
and learned'’. In sum, a real intercultural communication
must be established on the basis of respect for other people’s
knowledge or lifestyles; i.e. to be willing to understand others
with no strings attached.
The following recommendations can be made in this regard:
• KAP (knowledge, attitudes and practices) studies
could be made on issues related to health, sexual and
reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections
(STIs) and HIV/AIDS, with the active participation of
indigenous peoples and nationalities;
• Based on KAP studies results, different tools and
strategies could be identified to launch education
and training programmes aimed at preventing and
stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS, STIs and other
diseases. They could also be useful in creating
greater community awareness about risks, HIV/
AIDS determining factors, and States’ responsibility
to protect at-risk populations (such as indigenous
peoples) subject to poverty conditions, high
migration levels, illiteracy and others;
• Set an ethnically-relevant baseline on the incidence
and prevalence of HIV/AIDS, STIs and other
diseases;
• Ensure the availability of antiretroviral treatment for
indigenous populations already affected by the
disease.
36
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
1.8 Target 8:
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse
the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
Current
programmes
implemented
to
eradicate
malaria,
tuberculosis and other diseases vividly
illustrate an exclusively biomedical, fragmentary and
individualized approach. In the case of malaria, dengue
fever, haemorrhagic dengue fever and other diseases,
programmes include spraying, pharmacologic treatment
of patients, and drugs advisories or drugs freely handed
over to people travelling to affected sites. Year after
year a certain number of new cases are expected and
reiterated medical emergencies are declared; large
sums are allocated to purchase drugs and pesticides
for spraying brigades. In spite of this, each year a similar
number of adults, adolescents and children die of these
diseases. These programmes tackle the effects, not the
root causes of diseases.
In the case of malaria, indigenous peoples demand
the inclusion of environmental improvement in current
programmes. To this end, the Ministry of Public Health
must mobilize and seek the support of other sectors and
stakeholders.
• Community councils should be involved in health
programmes in order to foster mobilization and the
adoption of protective measures at community,
family and individual level.
37
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
Community human resources should be incorporated
since they could motivate community cooperation
in all health programme phases (health prevention,
health promotion) and help to integrate contributions
from other sectors.
Both the Spanish-speaking and the bilingual
education sectors should be associated in the
implementation of information, communication
and education programmes in order to promote
the conscious and informed participation of
communities, families and individuals.
Resources
allocated
to
health
emergencies
should take into account constant environmental
improvement, in cooperation with other sectors
and stakeholders. Thus, the complete eradication of
breeding ground for vectors could be programmed.
The following could be some of the main actions to
be adopted:
■ Provide safe or drinking water supply (breeding
grounds would disappear since families would
not need to store water which is usually polluted
and is the main source for breeding grounds).
Build systems for water drainage in order to
avoid the accumulation of stagnant used
waters where mosquitoes breed.
: : Implement programmes to build sewage
systems or other alternative mechanisms for
waste water disposal.
8 Mobilize
community
support
with
the
cooperation of municipalities, prefects’ offices
and other authorities to eliminate weeds and
bushes, debris, clean irrigation canals, etc.
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
In addition to what has been previously mentioned, in the
case of tuberculosis, programmes should aim at improving
the nutritional status of families and communities in general,
and those affected by the disease, in particular. The
improvement of environmental and housing conditions
should be essential components of any programme. It
could be said that the MDGs would remain unattainable
if a holistic approach is not incorporated in programmes
geared towards the eradication of malaria, dengue fever,
tuberculosis and other major diseases.
Goal 7:
nsure environmental sustainability
1.9 Target 9:
Integrate the principles of sustainable development
in country policies and programmes and
reverse the loss of environmental resources.
In order to stop the environmental degradation that has
significantly reduced forest areas with the ensuing loss of
biodiversity, pollution due to “sprawling” industrialization,
and increased CO2 emissions as a result of del CO2 fuel
intensive societies, it is not enough to merely incorporate an
environmentally sustainable dimension in public policies.
This is particularly true in the case of macroeconomics
or social policies dealing with poverty reduction or in
sectorial and fragmentary policies such as mining, tourism
or agriculture and animal husbandry.
39
millennium development goals, an indigenous peoples perspective
Nor is it enough to top “cleaner energy sources", to
implement mega hydroelectric projects, or to implement
the Montreal Protocol on the protection of the ozone layer.
It is not even enough to develop a number of disperse
strategies on forestry, biodiversity or economic growth.
Faced with an unstructured vision of nature subject to
human control, indigenous peoples consider that the
concept of sustainable development is not exclusively
related to economic returns, social sustainability or the
conservation of biodiversity. It is rather a way to conceive
and build development based on an economic model,
which is actually a life model that seeks equity and a
harmonious coexistence between all beings: human
beings, nature and society. It is related to a certain lifestyle
and type of society expressed in the sumac kawsay where
the principle of relations, as understood by indigenous
peoples, affirms that all elements are parts of a whole: the
Hanan Pacha (the world above, the world of gods), the
Uku Pacha (the world beneath), the Kai Pacha (this world
and his time). Each part respects the other and are the
master builders of the environment and the universe where
all elements are integrated, articulated and connected to
one another.
Biodiversity is intertwined with the realm of the sacred, the
knowledge and lifestyles that have enabled its protection
to this day as an important heritage. Biodiversity is also
linked to medicine and health since it has been the cradle
of universal pharmacopeia; it is linked to myths, rituals
and symbolisms, with the way authority is generated and
exercised; with the institutions developed by indigenous
peoples, with the territory where good governance
principles are put into practice by indigenous peoples;
40
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT COALS TARGETS
with food and feeding habits, with celebrations and
festivals, with dances, with religion, with architecture, with
literature, with justice, with social relations and with wisdom
to preserve natural wealth and promote societies firmly
based on equity and justice leading to the exercise of the
principles of harmony and balance.
A myth that might help in understanding the above is refers
to the origins of maize.
Many different mythological tales exist about maize. It
is said that maize used to be hidden under a mountain
or a huge boulder, in a place only ants could reach
and take the grains. When human beings saw that
rats, weasels, foxes and other animals fed on the
precious grains, they requested help from the gods.
Though it was not such an easy task even for them,
they succeeded in bringing out this valuable food
which became one of the most important elements in
human beings diet.
In the Chilam Balam of Chumayel, the Mayan book of
sacred tales, this deed was accomplished by Chaac,
god of rain and thunder. This explains why maize was
first white, but when one of the gods threw a lighting to
break the boulder, it burned several grains and some
turned yellow and others black or red.
The woodpecker is included in other tales as the
assistant of the gods and helper of human beings. It is
said that its red head is tinted with the blood It lost when
if was hurt by a piece of shrapnel while extracting the
maize.
41
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
In the “Popol Vuh: The Ancient Quiche Tales", by Adrian
Recinos, it is said that human beings were made of maize.
The gods used mud to make the first Mayas-Quiches but
they did not last: they were soft and lacked strength;
they fell apart before they could walk.
Then they tried with wood. The wooden dolls talked
and walked; but they were dry; they lacked blood
and substance, they had neither memory, nor sense of
purpose. They did not know how to talk to the gods or
could find nothing to tell them.
Then the gods used maize to make fathers and mothers.
They used yellow and white maize to knead their flesh.
The maize men and women could see as much as the
gods. Their eyesight would extend as far as the world.
The gods blew a mist and blurred their vision forever
because they did not want human beings to see beyond
the horizon4.
The Popol Vuh, mentions a specific place as the cradle
of maize: "Paxil-Tlalocan" which means “fertile land" or
"paradise on Earth” (located today in the central region
of the State of Veracruz, in Mexico). Mayas considered
maize as a gift from gods to human beings and thus, to
cultivate it and take care of it was considered a sacred
duty. It was valued to such extent that it was symbolically
given the same dimension or importance given to jade,
which was considered a symbol of power5.
4 GALEANO, Eduardo. “Memory of Fire": Volume 1; First Edition; 1982; Spain.
Pages 32 - 33.
5 Nina Pacari, in her presentation: Maize: A Symbol of Identity, Rituals and
Resilience.
ANALYSI50F THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
For this
reason,
a
colonialist
bias undermines
programmes that include the so-called participation of
local populations in managerial activities, particularly of
indigenous communities residing in or nearby protected
areas. This approach deprives indigenous peoples of
their condition as possessors of knowledge and owners
of highly bio-diverse lands and territories to become
mere stewards of "environmental management”. In
even more worrying cases, environmental management
is the responsibility of ecological Non Governmental
Organizations.
It must be stressed that unless an effort is made to plan for
a model of society that would drive away from consuming
patterns and superfluous comfort, mainstreaming the
principles of sustainable development in national policies
would be neither enough, nor an adequate solution to
reverse the loss of natural resources or the increasing
environmental damage translated in climate change and
the ensuing natural disasters we witness today.
This core issue is also closely linked to good governance,
power and multicultural citizenship. Indigenous peoples
are contributing in all these areas from active local
governments where they have implemented in public
management the good governance standards of: ama
llulla (shall not lie), ama shuwa (shall not steal) and ama
killa (shall not be lazy).
In sum and to conclude, it could be said that new lifestyles
and a new model of society must be promoted, together
with the implementation of new models of development
and a new economic order based on the principle of
cultural diversity, gender and
generation awareness,
human rights, equity and justice, amongst others.
43
millennium development coals, an indigenous peoples perspective
1.10 Target 10:
Halve by 2015 the proportion of people
without sustainable access to safe drinking water
In indigenous peoples' view, water is one of the world’s
constituent elements that cannot be considered in isolation
from others such as, i.e. land and territory, biodiversity, river
basins, lifestyles, resource management, rituals and sacred
realms, health and justice.
From the perspective of indigenous peoples, water is much
more than a vital resource forsubsistence and its importance
is not limited to economic or legal impacts. The indigenous
vision of water is based on three basic elements.
■ Water is considered a source of life and divine
nature. Water, as the origin of life and of the universe
is associated with the divine. This is the foundation of
the cult for water. Water is also related to the religious
dimension. This explains why rites and ceremonies
linked to water are so important. For example, the
day a baby is born, the day someone is judged for
a conduct that disrupts order and harmony, or baths
(in pugyos-water sources or waterfalls) taken on the
day preceding the Inti Raimi (Sun Festival) celebrated
by the Kichwa people in June remain important
examples.
■ According to indigenous perceptions, water is a living
being. It is constantly moving and flowing. Water is
alive and has a soul (energy-samai) because of the
relation between human beings and nature is based
on correspondence and not control over one another.
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
The relationship is based on dialogue and reciprocity in
order to understand each other and be able to coexist,
in a complementary relationship. The names given
to two of the most well known rivers of the Andean
Highlands witness the importance of water: Apurimac,
or the Talking God, and Vilcanota, or Sacred River.
■ The final element in the indigenous perception of water
is its place as an element in unity. In indigenous peoples'
view of the world, water cannot be dissociated from its
environment or from the community. The principle of
mutual relations and holistic approach is stressed in this
assertion.
Therefore, the achievement of quality of life through the
provision of potable water, sanitation, solid waste and
used water management and other essential services
is just a part of what is required. What about the lack
of infrastructure and public investment in irrigation to
feed the earth, improve the quality of soils and increase
productivity? What measures could be adopted to
preserve the sacred nature of water among indigenous
peoples? Water is an undeniable component of
development. The holistic understanding of water is
related to culture, the sacred and symbolic dimensions,
and even with the Goal to eradicate poverty and hunger.
As far as indigenous peoples are concerned, this Target
has to be readapted on the basis of the principle of
cultural diversity. Projects and programmes must not
only be aimed at providing access to water, but also to
promoting investment in required elements of infrastructure
such as irrigation canals: to implement incentives for
the custodians of water sources and water basins, such
as indigenous communities who live in the moorlands;
45
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
to enhance respect for sacred sites such as
waterfalls or water sources, in order to preserve
and strengthen indigenous peoples lifestyles and
myths through which the historic memory has been
preserved and the social and legal standards of
a differentiated society have been transmitted.
Permanent water drops used to fall in a corner of the
Cuicocha lake, in the Cotacachi Canton of the Province
of Imbabura, which the Kichwa people believed to
be the tears of Mama Cotacachi (Cutaicachi). It is
said that Taita Imbabura and Mama Cotacachi were
married in ancient times. In his youth, Taita Imbabura,
had been a womanizer and for some time was also
Mama Tungurahua’s partner. During this estrangement,
Rucu Pichincha came to Cuicocha and decided to
stay and protect Mama Cotacachi. Beautiful Wawa
Pichincha was born from this relationship. Such matters
were of “public” or rather “divine" knowledge; so much
so, that all gods -this is, all mountains, were summoned
to a general meeting. Order had been disrupted and
harmony had to be restored. After heated debates it was
decided that the ayllus (family and marriage) had to be
preserved. Thus, Mama Cotacachi and Taita Imbabura
continued their life together, while Wawa Pichincha had
to stay next to his solitary father. Since then, “father and
son" live together, as a family, while Mama Cotacachi
though having preserved her couple-family, continues
to weep over the Cuicocha lake (Gods' lake) tears of
sorrow caused by the separation and distance from her
son, Wawa Pichincha.
While we shall not dwell upon the social and legal
implications found in this myth. It should be highlighted
that those tears have been dried up by climate change.
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
In other words, climate change, brought about
by environmental deterioration, mainly caused by
developed countries, would be doing away with
much more than a myth or a tale. An entire social and
institutional structure would be affected; a complete
fabric of social and regulatory relations that preserved
a style of life, knowledge and development through
myths and symbolism, would be affected. In indigenous
peoples' view of the world, myths enable access to
knowledge in a different format. Myths incorporate
symbols as a way to mediate
reality. In order to
understand and know myths the person must resort to
different levels of comprehension and intuition. This runs
counter to the way reality is examined in the Western
world.
From the perspective of indigenous peoples, it could be
stated that climate change is the warning signal that
indicates the disruption of this balance, the indication
that all beings, including human beings are being killed,
together with their culture, institutions, and resources. It is
a new form of genocide, as our elders rightly point out.
However, this claim is construed by the Western world as
a forecast when they affirm that “in the coming decades,
major fights and disputes will be related to water”.
The achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
and Targets will be impossible if we continue on this
fragmentary path.
47
millennium development goals, an indigenous peoples perspective
1.11 Targe! 11:
By 2020, to have achieved a significant
improvement in the lives of at least
100 million slum dwellers.
The core issue is not access to "decent" housing or to a
"private-public” partnership. Communities are excluded
as subjects of interest (indigenous peoples as beneficiaries
of interventions) in the promotion of housing construction,
or in the allocation of resources in order to satisfy the needs
of low-income sectors.
Among indigenous peoples, joint community work {or
minga) is still a basic component of community economic
systems. The reality of indigenous peoples must be well
known before undertaking the implementation of housing
programmes to benefit them. Most indigenous peoples
live in rural areas and others in urban marginal areas.
However, all of them have preserved their traditions,
ancestral knowledge and the practice of minga, amongst
others.
Therefore, housing policies should consider indigenous
peoples identity and culture in the financing, joint
management and implementation of housing models
intended for their use.
Financing aspects should consider the following criteria:
flexibility in instalments, taking into account the notion
of savings; the type of activities, for instance, to adapt
payments within the agricultural calendar; the feasibility
of in kind payments.
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
The golden principle should be that “whoever has less
financial resources should be granted more financial
facilities". A pluri-cultural society needs to develop open
policies where the specificities of a pluri-cultural society
that promotes equity and justice should be taken into
account.
!n the area of joint management, these programmes
should count on the participation of beneficiaries
(individual or collective members of indigenous peoples),
since minga (community work) is practiced both at
family and community levels. Family or community
joint management through mingas will contribute to
strengthen ancestral institutions, while demonstrating
that contribution of counterparts in this exercise
promotes equality, equity and justice. Thus, one of the
rules of the principle of intercultural interpretation would
be applied: "the higher the level of cultural conservation
and development, the greater the autonomy of these
peoples”.
The housing models promoted under these programmes
disrupt indigenous peoples' environments and lifestyles.
The recovery and implementation of architectural
practices adapted to indigenous peoples view of the
world (ancestral technologies), use of symbols and the
inclusion of cosmic elements in construction would result
in culturally appropriate housing that preserve health,
well being, comfort, rational use of resources and identity
assertiveness. In summary, a holistic approach to housing
and the principle of cultural diversity will favourably
foster the development of indigenous peoples while
contributing to the inclusion of new elements in relevant
public policies.
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
Goal 8:
[C^evelop a global partnership
for development
1.12 Targets 12-15:
Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable,
non-discriminatory trading and financial system.
This includes a commitment to good governance,
development and poverty reduction, both
nationally and internationally.
Since this analysis is based on the perspective of indigenous
peoples, it should be stated that conditions for increased
production and productivity should be a pre-requisite
for the development of any trade system. This implies (in
agriculture, for instance), fostering a comprehensive land
reform that would include access to and ownership over
lands, credit reforms to incorporate new financial rules,
or changes in technical assistance to achieve cultural
relevance. Without the first step to improve production, no
progress would be feasible in the development of a real
alternative trade system. On the contrary, intermediary
activities would be strengthened. With their initiatives,
indigenous and peasant organizations have already
taken some first steps towards the so-called "third way
markets”. Such markets deserve to be supported through
public policies that are respectful of indigenous peoples'
realities. Microeconomic integration is a key factor in the
achievement of this Target.
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
An open financial market would not bear positive results
without a comprehensive reform of the financial system’s
rules, based on the logic of profitability and market
conditions, while operating in the midst of multicultural
societies that have preserved other rationale for economic
and financial management. Conditions for credit access,
for instance, run counter to the situation of poor people
and, even more so, of indigenous peoples. This leads us
to think that a new decentralized financial network of
institutions should be created (in urban and rural areas and
with linguistically relevant elements); that additional human
resources should be identified (social and organizational
factor); that local realities should be taken into account,
for instance, the quality of soils, close or distant location
of markets, existence or absence of road infrastructure, in
order to incorporate all these elements as building block of
this new financial network of institutions that would enable
real access to credit.
There are different, though still disperse, initiatives in this sense.
Community savings and loans institutions have been set up
to provide joint credit to community members or affiliates.
They operate under the economic principle of Ranti-Ranti,
or reciprocity and mutual fair gain. These experiences have
been successful regarding delinquency rates.
If experiences such as the above can operate in the daily
context of our societies with rules derived from different
cultural codes, then the current financial system rules
and institutions must be modified. Thus, poor people
and indigenous peoples would become direct financial
agents and would not be reduced to mere credit
recipients, in the best of scenarios. There is therefore
an urgent need for change, as suggested by ECLAC
in its survey on indigenous peoples in the Americas:
millennium development goals, an indigenous peoples perspective
in the analysis of ancient inequities, heterogeneous
realities and new commitment for democracies in the
21st century. (“Pueblos Indigenas de America Latina:
antiguas inequidades, realidades heterogeneas y nuevas
obligaciones para las democracias del siglo XXI"). A change
in approach based on the principle of cultural diversity.
Address the special needs of
the least developed countries.
This includes free access to tariff and quotas for the exports
of the least developed countries; enhanced programmes
of debit relief of highly-indebted poor countries (HIPCs)
and the cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more
generous official assistance for development (OAD) for
countries committed to poverty reduction.
Two clearly differentiated aspects emerge from this
Target. First, the treatment of least developed countries
in some kind of "ideal list of mendicity and homogeneity",
since no distinction is made of internal asymmetries
within countries. In dealing with tariffs, the emphasis is
put on “exports and imports", activities that are usually
undertaken by economically powerful groups. Within
this context, this Target, as proposed, would aim at
strengthening the situation of those "Have” countries,
instead of eradicating poverty, in association with
individuals who, in spite of their material situation, have
immaterial potential, such as being members of small
organizations that develop other rules and perspectives.
As far as indigenous peoples are concerned, this Target
completely excludes them as collective subjects.
52
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT COALS TARGETS
Consequently, besides improved conditions for increased
production and the development of indigenous peoples
to be generated with relevant multicultural public policies,
the resources obtained through "enhanced programmes
of debit relief" and "the cancellation of official bilateral
debt", as the second element identified in this Target,
should be channelled for investments in indigenous
peoples, taking into account their priorities and agendas.
In this regard, it is of paramount importance to consider
the provisions of ILO Convention 169, adopted as a binding
instrument.
Address the special needs
of landlocked countries
and small island developing States.
The content of this Target lacks a pluri-cultural approach
and reiterates handout measures that increase
dependency, in-keeping with the agenda of whoever
provides support.
It is, therefore, important to deal comprehensively with the
debt problems of developing countries through national
and international measures in order to make debt
sustainable in the long term.
Addressing the debt problem, as proposed under the
framework of this Target, would place us in the status
of “eternal debtors". The burden of the debt is today
one of the most significant hurdles in the path towards
development. The question would then be Who finances
whose development?
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TARGETS
of the greenhouse effect, the loss of biodiversity, the
depletion of resources, air contamination and pollution,
among others, as consequences that cannot be dissociated
from the current economic system and that have an
impact throughout the planet beyond the borders where
they were generated."8
In other words, both the economic system in its structural
nature and lifestyles linked to unbridled consuming habits
must undergo a radical change in order to build an
equitable and fair economic order, together with societies
with holistic views and actions that would preserve the
human being-nature-society balance.
It could be concluded, therefore, that indigenous
peoples have suffered the most from the debt problem.
Not only have they been victims of colonial usurpation,
but they are also paying for a debt which is not theirs.
The resources obtained through debts contracted
by successive governments have not been invested
to benefit indigenous peoples, but domestic legal
frameworks, either through taxes or with the lack of
investment in indigenous areas, force them to repay.
Hence the argument in favour of ceasing debt payments
in order to free resources that could and should be
invested in the development of indigenous peoples and
the eradication of poverty and hunger.
8 Idem. Page. 158.
M'.-ENNIL'M DEVELOPMENT GOALS, AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
1.13 Target 16:
In cooperation with developing countries,
develop and implement strategies for decent
and productive work for youth.
This Target’s approach breaks up the concept of ayllu, of the
family and the economic system based on principles such
as community work, or minga, reciprocity, ayni (cooperation
and solidarity), maquipurarina (production and exchange),
and ranti-ranti (trade and financial relations). Decent work
-llankana (be doing), emerges from a community effort with
generation and gender awareness.
It is worth noting that the "generation" principle is based on
age, as it is in the western perspective. In the case of young
people, “generation" is related more to responsibilities
than to age. This means that, from the “be-exist-doing"
perspective, if a person is ready to assume contracts or
be married at 14 or 15 years of age, as adolescent men
Iwanpra) or women (cu/Tza), he or she is mature enough
and may have savings such as livestock or land, or may
have a skill orcraft, and above that he or she may have the
sense of belonging to the ayllu, or the family-community
where autonomous work is always present.
Therefore, in order to achieve this Target, the dynamics
set in motion by young indigenous men and women to
consolidate their family and community environment
must be supported without undermining the cohesion or
unity of their social and collective processes. All strategies
must be designed for the community entity to which
the young indigenous man or woman belongs. In other
words, strategies designed to benefit indigenous youth
should not relegate the meaning, subject or reality of the
community to a minor role.
m b
IL lid uJ
M » '■ '■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ m ■ ■ m
1
la u ik tk u. w kk u, ik tk' ik kkl uu ikl kkl iki IM iki ii
ANALYSIS Of THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT COALS TARGETS
1.14 Target 17:
In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies,
provide access to affordable essential drugs
in developing countries.
In the analysis of this Target, we shall refer to John le
Carre’s’ words when he states that each year, millions
of square kilometres of tropical forests disappear, native
agricultural communities are systematically dispossessed
of their livelihoods, displaced and left homeless; those
who protest against this are hung and shot at; the most
pristine corners of the world are invaded and desecrated
while tropical forests become decaying moorlands in
the midst of which outrageous megalopolis are found
infested with diseases. Everything is allowed to the Big
Pharma (pharmaceutical companies) since its work
benefits the entire world and, whoever thinks otherwise is
a neo-communist heretic.
The formulation of this Target gives the impression that we
should follow the path leading to the legitimate recognition
of bio-piracy10 and bio-prospection1'; both systematic
practices of large pharmaceutical companies.
Indigenous peoples, through their organizations, such
as the Confederation of Indigenous Organizations of
the Amazon Basin (Confederacion de Organizaciones
Indigenes de la Cuenca Amazonica - COICA), the
9
John Le Carre is an English writer ana researcher.
10 Bio-piracy, defined as "the use of intellectual properly rights to obtain
the legitimate recognition of property entitlement over and the exclusive
control of biological knowledge and resources with no recognition.
reward or protection given to the contribution of informal innovators".
11 It refers to the study of biological diversity in order to discover organisms
that might have a commercial application.
57
T.MIuM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Amazon
Region of Ecuador (Confederacion de las Nocionalidades
Indigenes de la Amazonia Ecuatoriana - CONFENIAE),
the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador
(Confederacion de Nocionalidades Indigenes del
Ecuador - CONA1E), defend their intellectual property
rights over their ancestral knowledge on medicinal plants,
agricultural products, micro-organisms, genetic sequences
and other land or aquatic living organisms. On the other
hand, the Big Pharma, with the complicity and support of
Governments of the day, defend their intellectual property
rights arguing that they have invested in the final discovery
of active principles and fail to observe the provisions of the
Convention on Biological Diversity (not signed by the United
States) that establish the sovereign right of all countries over
their biodiversity and the equitable distribution of benefits
derived from their exploitation.
In 1997, Russel Mittermeier and his team of scientists identified
Ecuador as one of the 17 most mega-diverse countries in the
world: that is, one of the countries with greatest biological
diversity (home to 70% of all animal and plant species found
on the planet). Ecuador is the seventh most bio-diverse
country in vascular plants. Pharmaceutical transnational
corporations are the only and exclusive beneficiaries of
this vast wealth. Time and again it is reiterated in scientific
magazines and journals around the world that 90% of
pharmaceutical components come from plants and
that their discovery is linked to native peoples’ traditional
knowledge. Hundreds of industries and institutes study
indigenous peoples, particularly in the Amazon Region.
Without indigenous peoples' informed consent however,
they have carried out ethno-botanical research and not
only have they appropriated themselves of ancestral
knowledge, but they have also obtained patents for it.
ANALYSIS OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT COALS TARGETS
This is how the active principle of the Aya Huasca was
patented and only after a long battle waged by COICA
did the United States Patent and Trademark Office finally
refuse granting this patent. Nonetheless, other products
have not been as fortunate; a case in point is the patents
granted to Conrad Gorinski, over two active principles
called Cunaniol y Rupununine (obtained from barbasco,
a plant traditionally used for fishing by indigenous peoples
of the Amazon Region), who are currently produced and
sold by him.
It is obvious that bio-piracy and bio-prospection by large
pharmaceutical corporations who “discover" active
principles of wild species in tropical forest and in the Amazon
jungles, aided by the ancestral knowledge of indigenous
peoples, will continue in the absence of adequate laws
to regulate this activity amidst the lackadaisical and
unconcerned attitude of Governments.
In this scenario, indigenous peoples’ voice has been, and
is, the dissident voice, the unheard and muted voice of
protest. They propose legal restrictions to the control of
pharmaceutical companies over their own patents.
They propose a law to protect intellectual property rights
over biodiversity and their ancestral knowledge. If these
regulatory frameworks were to be adopted, it would be
forbidden to patent the complete drug development
process (currently patents cover the manufacturing
methods, the presentation: gel, tablets, the required dose:
daily, every 12, 8 hours etc.). Pharmaceutical companies
obtain patents to cover each insignificant phase in a
drug’s life cycle and thus, they hinder the production of
generic drugs by local or national manufacturers who
could produce and sell the drugs at a fraction of the
cost of the commercial price set by pharmaceutical
companies. This would expand the benefits to all human
beings and would set adequate legal standards to
protect the country's biodiversity.
59
CHAPTER II
PROPOSED TARGETS AND INDICATORS
OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
WITH GREATER RELEVANCE
FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
l
PROPOSED TARGETS AND INDICATORS OF THE MDGS WITH RELEVANCE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
CHAPTER !!
PROPOSED TARGETS AND INDICATORS
OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
WITH GREATER RELEVANCE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
In this section, examples are given to illustrate a new
orientation that could be given to the Millennium
Development Goals, that should be adapted to each
peoples' realities. This could generate other exercises where
indigenous peoples could express their own Targets.
According to specific contexts, a quantification of the
proposed indicators will be established.
Goal 1:
radicate extreme poverty and hunger
2.1 Target 1:
Increase by 50% until 2015, the restitution
of territories to indigenous peoples
and increase their capacity to save.
Indicators:
■
% of indigenous peoples and nationalities with
community deeds over their lands and territories.
g
% of indigenous peoples and nationalities with
access to credit in which due account is taken of
their view of the world (credit reimbursement as per
the agricultural calendar and others). This credit
should have an impact on the implementation
of the principle according to which the greater
the conservation of traditions and practices, the
greater the autonomy.
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
2.2 Target 2:
Halve, between and 2015, the proportion
of people who suffer from hunger.
Indicators:
3
%of increase in diversified savings, understood
as the increase in the production of foodstuffs,
small and large livestock, among others.
% of indigenous peoples who have learned
again how to use and consume (individually
and collectively) produce with higher nutritional
value (quinoa, mashua....) and who contribute
to strengthen ancestral knowledge and to the
adequate management of biodiversity.
Goal 2:
jSkchieve universal primary education
2.3 Target 3:
Until 2015, indigenous boys and girls would have
finished a complete course of primary schooling.
Life awareness and intercultural methodologies
would have been adopted to foster
the consolidation of their ethnic
and cultural identity, as well as their self-esteem.
Indicators:
% of indigenous boys and girls who have
completed their primary education.
PROPOSED TARGETS AND INDICATORS OF THE MDGS WITH RELEVANCE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
% of indigenous boys and girls who have
reasserted their identity and self-esteem (clothing,
languages, traditions, values, security and others).
% of indigenous boys and girls who read,
write and speak in their native languages.
% of education material designed and used to
promote true intercultural relations and education.
Goal 3:
romote gender equality and empower
women
2.4 Target 4:
Achieve equitable opportunities in primary
and secondary education, emphasizing
the complementary nature of indigenous girls
and boys and adolescent men and women,
and at all levels of education by 2015.
Indicators:
a
% of adolescent indigenous men and women
who have completed secondary education.
% of adolescent indigenous men and
women who read, write and speak in their mother
tongue.
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT COALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
Q
% of adolescent indigenous men and
women who preserve their identity and have
reasserted their self-esteem.
■
% of education material where the ethnic
and culturally relevant approach has been
integrated.
Goal 4:
Reduce child mortality
2.5 Target 5:
Reduce by two thirds, until 2015, the under-five
year olds mortality rate, through the delivery
of intercultural and holistic health services.
Indicators:
■
System of indicators that includes the ethnic
variable, designed and implemented at national
level with disaggregated data up to community
level.
■
% of annual reduction of mother and child
mortality (monitoring and assessment)
■
% of health services that have implemented
the family health history.
% of health services that reviewed their
protocols, norms, standards and procedures to
integrate their ethnic and cultural relevance for
indigenous populations.
S AND INDICATORS OF THE MDGs WITH RELEVANCE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
% of community health care providers
incorporated to national health systems.
% of community health systems that receive
financial resources.
Number of protocols that take into account
ancestral knowledge and practices that have been
incorporated in health services delivery (treatments
with medicinal plants that improve respiratory
ailments, diarrheal diseases and others)
% of health facilities that have adopted
vertical childbirth.
Number of emergency and timely health care
systems that have been established in coordination
with health care services and the communities.
% of staff members who speak native mother
tongues that have been incorporated in health
services.
Goal 5:
| mprove maternal health
2.6 Target 6:
Reduce by three quarters, until 2015,
the maternal mortality ratio through the delivery
of intercultural and holistic health services.
67
millennium development goals, an indigenous peoples perspective
Indicators:
■
System of indicators that includes the ethnic
variable, designed and implemented at national
level with disaggregated data up to community
level.
H
% of annual reduction of mother and child
mortality (monitoring and assessment)
■
% of health services that have implemented
the family health history.
% of health services that reviewed their
protocols, norms, standards and procedures to
integrate their ethnic and cultural relevance for
indigenous populations.
■
% of community health care providers
incorporated to national health systems.
■
% of community health systems that receive
financial resources.
■
Number of protocols that take into account
ancestral knowledge and practices that have
been incorporated in health services delivery
(treatments with medicinal plants that improve
respiratory ailments, diarrheal diseases and others)
■
% of health facilities that have adopted
vertical childbirth.
Number of emergency and timely health care
systems that have been established in coordination
with health care services and the communities.
*
68
% of staff members who speak native
mother tongues that have been incorporated in
health services.
PROPOSED TARGETS AND INDICATORS OF THE MDGS WITH RELEVANCE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Goal 6:
jambat HIV/AIDS, malaria
and other diseases.
2.7 Target 7:
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse
the spread of HIV/AIDS, taking into account
indigenous peoples view of the world on sexuality
and incorporating a human rights
and collective rights approach.
Indicators:
n
System of indicators that includes the ethnic
variable, designed and implemented at national
level with disaggregated data up to community
level.
■
Number of education and training materials on
sexual and reproductive health that take into
account their ethnic and cultural relevance for
indigenous peoples, which have been designed
and used.
®
% of the annual reduction in the number of
people with HIV/AIDS (monitoring and assessment).
■
% of community councils working on sexual
and reproductive rights, human rights and collective
rights in each indigenous people and nationality.
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
2.10 Target 10:
Have, by 2015, the proportion of people
without sustainable access to water.
Indicators:
■
% of indigenous peoples and nationalities
that protect water sources and river basins with
the support of the national government.
% of sacred sites protected under the
national legislation and indigenous peoples law
from plundering or unlawful appropriation by
people alien to indigenous territories.
®
% of sacred lands and sites handed over as
community lands to indigenous peoples for their
management, conservation and protection.
B
% of annual increase in irrigations systems
designed and implemented according to
indigenous peoples view of the world.
B
% increase in the use and consumption
of safe water supply in indigenous peoples and
nationalities.
PROPOSED TARGETS AND INDICATORS OF THE MDGS WITH RELEVANCE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
2.11
Target 11:
By 2020, to have achieved significant improvement
in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.
Indicators:
®
% of indigenous peoples and nationalities that
own their houses, built through community work, in
mingas, and using alternative financing methods.
»
% of non for profit private or State organizations
that support house ownership under schemes
consistent with indigenous peoples view of the
world.
% of indigenous peoples and nationalities
that receive financial support for the development
of productive activities.
Goal 8:
r^levelop a global partnership for development
2.12 Targets 12-15:
By 2015, obtain a total cancellation
of the official debt which is considered illegitimate
Indicators:
% of financial resources derived from the
non-payment of the external debt that is invested
in the sustainable and sustained development of
indigenous peoples and nationalities.
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
2.13 Target!6:
By 2015,-succeed in generating productive
employment for economically active men
and women, by introducing greater dynamism
in local, national and regional economies.
Indicators:
Number and % of individual, family or community
productive initiatives (including intellectual initiatives)
that have been adopted as multicultural public
policies by the national government, or by private
non-profit entities, and that have materialized in the
allocation of financial resources.
■
% of indigenous men and women associated
to individual, family or community enterprises.
2.14 Target 17:
States, with the support of civil society in general
and indigenous peoples in particular,
protect biodiversity, including genetic
and biological resources, and provide access to
essential drugs, applying the principles
of sovereignty and social protection.
Indicators:
□
Legal framework that regulates bio-prospection
and sanctions bio-piracy.
PROPOSED TARGETS AND INDICATORS OF THE MDGS WITH RELEVANCE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
■
Number of initiatives for the production of phyto
drugs by indigenous peoples and nationalities
supported by State agencies.
■
Number of essential drugs handed over by the
State to the population applying criteria of
sovereignty and independence from the influence
of pharmaceutical transnational corporations.
2.15 Target 18:
In cooperation with the private sector. States must
ensure the technologic and scientific development
of indigenous peoples and nationalities, and make
available to the benefits of new information
and communication technologies.
Indicators:
H
Number of indigenous people graduated in
Information and communication careers.
□
Number of indigenous communities that use ITC
technological tools.
□
Number of indigenous communities that use
software packages designed by indigenous
technical experts.
■
Number of studies on the impact of technology
and communications in indigenous populations.
■ 75
CHAPTER III
RECOMEN DATIONS TO:
THE STATES,
THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
AND OTHER COOPERATION AGENCIES,
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES,
REGARDING MAIN ACTIONS AND STRATEGIES
TO BE DEVELOPED IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE
THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
IN AREAS INHABITED BY INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS
RECOMEN DATIONS
CHAPTER III
RECOMENDATIONS TO THE STATES,
THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
AND OTHER COOPERATION AGENCIES,
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, REGARDING MAIN ACTIONS
AND STRATEGIES TO BE DEVELOPED IN ORDER
TO ACHIEVE THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
IN AREAS INHABITED BY INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS
3.1
RECOMENDATIONS TO STATES
► Adopt the principle of cultural diversity as the guiding
axis for all policies, programmes, projects, strategies
and actions.
► Take the needs identified and prioritized
indigenous peoples as the point of departure.
by
► Incorporate the direct participation of indigenous
peoples in decision-making processes, as well as
in the development and implementation of plans
and programmes. This implies that the practice
of minga/mink'a, or coilective/community work
should be reintroduced, recovered, integrated and
strengthened within indigenous societies.
► Incorporate the new development dimensions
promoted by indigenous peoples as a contribution
intended to benefit humanity as a whole.
► Amend current legislation, generate new intercultural
jurisprudence and design multicultural public policies.
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
► Adopt operational mechanisms, as secondary
legislation, for the operative implementation of
collective rights.
► Avoid national averages and develop ethnically,
culturally, gender and generation-relevant indicators
where communities will be the first geographic unit.
► Channel financial resources to activities, programmes
or projects, jointly identified with indigenous peoples,
which would contribute to the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals and Targets.
3.2
RECOMENDATIONS TO THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
AND OTHER COOPERATION AGENCIES
► Adopt the principle of cultural diversity as the guiding
axis for all policies, programmes, projects, strategies
and actions.
► Take needs identified and prioritized by indigenous
peoples as the point of departure.
► Incorporate the direct participation of indigenous
peoples in decision-making processes, as well as
in the development and implementation of plans
and programmes. This implies that the practice
of minga/mink'a, or collective/community work,
should be reintroduced, recovered, integrated and
strengthened within indigenous societies.
78
RECOMENDATIONS
► Incorporate the new development dimensions
promoted by indigenous peoples as a contribution
intended to benefit humanity as a whole.
►
Use indigenous technical assistance and financial
aid to support processes of concerted action
among indigenous peoples aimed at modifying
existing legislations, generate new intercultural
jurisprudence and design multicultural public
policies.
► Use indigenous technical assistance and financial
aid to support processes of concerted action
among indigenous peoples aimed at identifying
operational mechanisms, as secondary legislation,
and other means, to enable the full exercise of
collective rights.
>. Use indigenous technical assistance and financial
aid to support the development of ethnically,
culturally,
gender
and
generation-relevant
indicators where communities will be the first
geographic unit.
► Respect the agendas developed by indigenous
peoples. In 2005, the German cooperation agency,
GTZ, undertook an assessment of its cooperation
activities in Ecuador, Bolivia and Guatemala. In
one of their findings, they acknowledge that one
of their weaknesses has been the priorities set
from their vision and which are far removed from
the demands of indigenous peoples. Hence, one
of their goals in their new form of cooperation is
to collaborate within the agenda established by
indigenous peoples, according to their view of the
world and contents.
■JM
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PERSPECTIVE
LS
3.3
RECOMENDATIONS TO INDIGENOUS PEOPLES,
NATIONALITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS
11'.
gu."
► Take up the work of grassroots organizations,
indigenous communities and peoples who live in
the national territory and agree upon a common
agenda for development by sector, identifying roles,
responsibilities and resources of all stakeholders and
the State.
► Succeed until 2015, in achieving the restitution of
territories to indigenous peoples with the support of
the national and international community.
fit
fit
fit
fit
st
► Promote the adoption of the principle of cultural
diversity as the guiding axis for all policies,
programmes, projects, strategies and actions.
SI
► Take needs identified and prioritized by indigenous
peoples as the point of departure, specifically taking
into account each peoples and nationality (Coastal
Region, Highlands and Amazon Region)
£
► Promote and achieve the direct participation of
indigenous peoples in decision-making processes,
as well as in the development and implementation
of plans and programmes. This implies that the
practice of minga/mink'a. orcollective/community
work,
should
be reintroduced,
recovered,
integrated and strengthened within indigenous
societies.
Bii-
gr
BT
St
St
Sc
Stfit
RECOMENDATIONS
► Foster and largely disseminate the new development
dimensions promoted by indigenous peoples as
a contribution intended to benefit humanity as a
whole, using their own available resources and from
other partners.
► Create awareness among and obtain support from
civil society, political stakeholders and cooperation
agencies in order to modify existing legislations,
generate new intercultural jurisprudence and
design multicultural public policies.
► Propose operational mechanisms, as secondary
legislation, for the operative implementation of
collective rights.
>. Lead the development of ethnically, culturally,
gender and generation-relevant indicators where
communities will be the first geographic unit.
► Channel financial resources from the State, as well
as from national and international agencies, to
activities, programmes or projects, jointly identified
with indigenous peoples from the Coastal, Andean
and Amazon Regions, which would contribute to
the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals and Targets.
Pan American
Health
Organization
Regional Office of tfie
World Health Organization
Health of Indigenous Peoples Regional Programme
Technology, Health Care and Research Area
Pan American Health Organization
World Health Organization
525 23'° Street NW
Washington. DC 20037
www.paho.org
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