Kandozi and Shapra People’s Right to Health in Peru

We are helping the critically endangered Kandozi and Shapra people in accessing adequate medical care.

Location: State of Loreto, Peru
Partners: Kandozi and Shapra Organization of Musa Karusha, Pastaza (ORKAMUKADIP), WWF Peru, and the Catholic University Law School of Lima, Peru

Why this project is important: Access to health is a human right. Given their poor health situation, the Kandozi and Shapra risk overtapping their natural resources in order to obtain healthcare for sick family members. Similar situations are played out elsewhere in the Amazon, where isolated communities do not have adequate access to healthcare. Through this project we therefore hope to create a model where local organizations teamed up with pro-bono legal support, can bring healthcare – or other social services – to their communities.

Background: The Kandozi and neighboring Shapra people live in Datem del Marañón, in Peru's northern Amazon. Spread out among 73 communities, their population is about 5,000. They live around Lake Rimachi, the largest in the Peruvian Amazon, and have managed it sustainably for millennia. They are seriously threatened by a rising Hepatitis B epidemic, however. According to studies by the Peruvian government, approximately 70% of the entire population was infected in 2000. Since issuing this information, however, the government has failed to dedicate sufficient resources; and as a result, the disease has spread even more.

What we’re doing: We have partnered with local Kandozi and Shapra organizations, as well as WWF Peru and the Law School of Lima’s Catholic University. Together, we are working on behalf of the Kandozi to secure their right to health care from the Peruvian government. This includes legal work, know your rights workshops in the communities, strengthening the four Kandozi and Shapra federations, and providing them with the tools to do advocacy around their right to health. Our partnership has already had some impressive results. In September 2011, the Kandozi and Shapra won an important ruling at a local court, reaffirming their right to health and calling on the Peruvian government to provide adequate healthcare for the communities.

Did you Know?

*This is the first time a law school clinic in Peru is focusing on the rights of indigenous peoples.
*The need to pay for expensive medical care associated with the complications of Hepatitis B is causing increased extraction of local natural resources.

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News Updates

November 22, 2011
Kandozi and Shapra win key ruling on their right to health
On September 15, 2011, a judge in the small town of San Lorenzo in the Peruvian Amazon ruled in favor of the Kandozi and Shapra, who had brought forward a case regarding their right to health.

January Field Trip: Establishing A Partnership With The Kandozi