-UNICEF, MIPA study finds

A RECENT study conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs (MIPA) concluded that indigenous communities are still the poorest and most vulnerable.
Researchers from UNICEF and the ministry combed 12 villages from nine of the 10 administrative regions, in search of information that would assist in crafting new policies and strategies.

The report, which focuses on indigenous women and children, was presented by UNICEF to the Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Sydney Allicock, on Friday at the Umana Yana.
Access to infrastructure, unemployment and social services have resulted in the indigenous communities being labelled the poorest in the country.
UNICEF Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) specialist Michael Gillis during the presentation of the findings, pointed out that the communities surveyed experience poverty twice the rate and sometimes even five times more than non-indigenous populations.
The latest measure of monetary poverty which was published in 2015, using data from 2006, highlighted that Regions One (Barima-Waini), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) have the highest rates of poverty.
According to the report, the assessment revealed that for most indigenous communities, poverty is not only lack of monetary resources, but it also involves access to land, culture, medicine, food, education and safety.

“Despite this holistic and multifactor approach on poverty that was found in the indigenous communities, it is clear that many people in the villages depend on [the] help of neighbours and religious organisations among others,” the report said.
It was reported that some persons use traditional medicine, because the medical drug was not available at health centres, or they did not have money to buy at the local shops.
In addition, many adolescents said that they knew other people their age who went to school without eating or without money to buy food from the canteen, and for many, including teachers, the warm meal served in some of the primary schools would constitute a day’s meal.

In the report, it was also highlighted that women and children from indigenous communities do not benefit from the same commodities as their counterparts who live in the coastal area.

This reportedly affects their access to a good-quality education, health and other social services. For instance, according to the findings, almost 44 per cent of the households in the interior region of the country do not have access to electricity.
A qualitative assessment revealed that the communities which were visited lacked electricity or received power from solar panels, although many were not working properly.
Gillis said the lack of infrastructure is only one of the problems which the communities face.
Lack of employment and employment opportunities were also reported as major problems for the female and male populations.
Statistics show that around 67 per cent of the men who are formally employed in the hinterland regions, work in farming, logging and fishing or mining and quarrying businesses.

Most however do not have a formal job so they stay at home to take care of children or to do small subsistence farming.
After listening to some of the findings, Minister Allicock pointed out that it was important for them to understand what is happening in the communities, but he urged UNICEF to do follow-up research on the indigenous men.
He welcomed the findings, because the geographical locations of some of the communities made them difficult to access, but the survey was done.
The report will nonetheless help them to craft a better plan to monitor and evaluate key issues which affect the indigenous communities, he said.