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. The Kandozi and Shapra have been hit hard by a Hepatitis epidemic, which has affected over 70% of their population. Government health programs were not providing adequate healthcare, including prevention (most effective in the first 24 hours of life) and treatment. The Kandozi and Shapra, together with a legal team from the Catholic University of Lima filed a legal case, arguing that the government must provide adequate healthcare. After months of back-and-forth between courts, the Judge in San Lorenzo ruled in the communities’ favor. While it is possible that the ruling is appealed, the judgment should set important precedent in terms of guaranteeing indigenous peoples’ right to health.

The case was initiated in 2010, through an innovative partnership that RF-US orchestrated between local indigenous organizations, NGOs, and the Catholic University Law school. Since then RF-US has supported both the Kandozi and Shapra’s local organizations to represent their people in the case, as well as travel for the legal team from the Catholic University Human Rights Clinic. WWF-Peru played a key role in providing logistical support at the local level. Click here for more information on the project.