Study: Brazil government undercounts Indigenous deaths from COVID-19 by half (5-18-21)
Study: Brazil government undercounts Indigenous deaths from COVID-19 by half
Maurício Angelo / Mongabay
5-18-21
A new study shows that official records underreported COVID-19 deaths among Indigenous people in Brazil by half, and also substantially underreported total numbers of infections. A key factor in the problem is that the official records only consider Indigenous people living within officially recognized Indigenous territories, effectively effacing the 36% of Brazil’s Indigenous who live in urban areas. The study authors say that by failing to acknowledge the full extent of the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous populations, the government can’t allocate adequately funding and other resources to address it. To date, COVID-19 has killed more than 1,000 Indigenous people across Brazil, with more than 52,000 confirmed infections across people from 163 ethnic groups.