UN observes Int.Day of the World’s Indigenous People

(Aug.11,2009): The world’s 370 million indigenous people remain among the most vulnerable members of our societies, warned the head of UNICEF - the United Nations Children’s Fund, joining a chorus of UN officials voicing their concerns, as the world body observed the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People on Monday. “Many indigenous peoples live in conditions that make them especially vulnerable to the spread of HIV,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman in a message marking the Day.
“Yet ,efforts to monitor the epidemic among indigenous peoples are often lacking," she said . Many indigenous peoples live in conditions that make them especially vulnerable to the spread of HIV,” Veneman said. “Health education is essential to preventing the transmission of HIV and AIDS,” she added.
The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues observed that indigenous women, in particular, suffer disproportionately from a number of socio-economic difficulties that increase the spread of the disease, including poverty, marginalization, homelessness and poor access to education.