UN Forum puts spotlight on healthcare for Indigenous Peoples

More than 1,000 participants are expected to attend the latest session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) – the platform that has placed their concerns at the centre of international debate over the past 25 years.

“ From the Amazon to Australia, and Africa to the Arctic, you are the great guardians of nature, a living library of biodiversity conservation, and champions of climate action ,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in remarks to the opening ceremony.

Health inequities persist

Delegates – many wearing traditional clothing – convened in the General Assembly Hall where an Inuit leader from Canada, Aluki Kotierk, was re-elected chair of the forum by acclamation.

Although Indigenous People make up six per cent of the global population, they account for nearly 19 per cent of those living in extreme poverty.…