Indigenous Leadership, State Inaction, and Interinstitutional Cooperation in Addressing Covid-19 in the Upper Rio Negro, Amazonas, Brazil.
1
1 National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A3151
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
This study examines the response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Indigenous territory of the Upper Rio Negro (Alto Rio Negro – ARN), based on the lived experience of an Indigenous woman from the Baré people, a nurse, and member of the technical team of the Special Indigenous Health District of Alto Rio Negro (DSEI-ARN), in Amazonas, Brazil. Between 2020 and 2021, the author worked at the Emergency Operations Center coordinating the Covid-19 response in São Gabriel da Cachoeira. The study critically reflects on challenges and analyzes strategies developed under Indigenous leadership.
METHODS:
Autoethnography is adopted as a methodological and political approach, integrating professional practice, memory, and critical reflection. Empirical material includes personal records and memoirs produced by the Indigenous researcher, complemented by institutional documents and reports from the Committee for Confronting and Combating Covid-19 in São Gabriel da Cachoeira. The analysis privileges a situated perspective, examining decision-making processes, care practices, and interinstitutional coordination within the Upper Rio Negro, in dialogue with scientific literature.
RESULTS:
Findings show that the Covid-19 response in the Upper Rio Negro was largely led by Indigenous organizations amid state omission and inaction. The strategic role of the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of the Rio Negro (FOIRN), coordinating local managers, particularly the DSEI-ARN, together with non-governmental and academic partners, was fundamental. This effort enabled health checkpoints, Indigenous Primary Health Care Units, communication strategies in Indigenous languages, and strengthened community-based self-protection networks. Delayed government actions could have caused far more severe impacts without Indigenous agility, coordination capacity, and leadership.
CONCLUSIONS:
The study concludes that effective responses to health emergencies in Indigenous territories require recognition and strengthening of Indigenous political organization and leadership. This recognition enhances intercultural approaches and community participation. The Upper Rio Negro experience demonstrates that Indigenous leadership is indispensable for health policies in emergencies.
This study examines the response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Indigenous territory of the Upper Rio Negro (Alto Rio Negro – ARN), based on the lived experience of an Indigenous woman from the Baré people, a nurse, and member of the technical team of the Special Indigenous Health District of Alto Rio Negro (DSEI-ARN), in Amazonas, Brazil. Between 2020 and 2021, the author worked at the Emergency Operations Center coordinating the Covid-19 response in São Gabriel da Cachoeira. The study critically reflects on challenges and analyzes strategies developed under Indigenous leadership.
METHODS:
Autoethnography is adopted as a methodological and political approach, integrating professional practice, memory, and critical reflection. Empirical material includes personal records and memoirs produced by the Indigenous researcher, complemented by institutional documents and reports from the Committee for Confronting and Combating Covid-19 in São Gabriel da Cachoeira. The analysis privileges a situated perspective, examining decision-making processes, care practices, and interinstitutional coordination within the Upper Rio Negro, in dialogue with scientific literature.
RESULTS:
Findings show that the Covid-19 response in the Upper Rio Negro was largely led by Indigenous organizations amid state omission and inaction. The strategic role of the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of the Rio Negro (FOIRN), coordinating local managers, particularly the DSEI-ARN, together with non-governmental and academic partners, was fundamental. This effort enabled health checkpoints, Indigenous Primary Health Care Units, communication strategies in Indigenous languages, and strengthened community-based self-protection networks. Delayed government actions could have caused far more severe impacts without Indigenous agility, coordination capacity, and leadership.
CONCLUSIONS:
The study concludes that effective responses to health emergencies in Indigenous territories require recognition and strengthening of Indigenous political organization and leadership. This recognition enhances intercultural approaches and community participation. The Upper Rio Negro experience demonstrates that Indigenous leadership is indispensable for health policies in emergencies.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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