Pandemic of hunger: The severe nutritional deficiency that kills Yanomami ethnic children

Abstract

Chronic malnutrition is the painful reality that Yanomami children face in Brazil's largest Indigenous Land and is pointed out by specialists as one of the results of the federal government's "anti-indigenous policy". The lack, or scarcity, of medical care, together with the lack of environmental inspection, pushes the Yanomami into a desperate scenario. It is estimated that 20,000 illegal miners operate in the territory. Mining activity contaminates rivers with mercury and has caused deformities and illnesses in women and children. They live on the largest indigenous reserve in Brazil. There are nine million hectares within the Amazon Forest. Malaria has persistently advanced in Yanomami land: there are more than 16,000 cases this year alone. Several children are dying.