Brazil Senate hearing highlights violence against indigenous health workers

During a public hearing on May 6, the Senate's Human Rights Commission (CDH) examined the precarious conditions faced by health professionals serving Brazil's indigenous populations. Senator Damares Alves, who chairs the commission, stressed that the state must guarantee safe, dignified workplaces and protect those who provide essential care.

The session recalled the July 17 shooting death of indigenous health agent Geovane Yanomami in Roraima, underscoring a pattern of physical attacks, moral and sexual harassment, and severe shortages of housing, equipment, medicines and even basic cold‑storage facilities. Union leader Joana Gouveia Mendes warned that such threats and the lack of infrastructure are driving workers away from remote territories, jeopardizing continuous health assistance for indigenous communities.

Commission members called for the retention of staff in indigenous areas to build trust and improve the effectiveness of Brazil's indigenous health policy.