Prosecutors from the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) affirmed today (23) that the health situation of the Yanomami indigenous people was caused by the failure of the Brazilian State to protect indigenous lands. 
The conclusion is in a public note released by the Chamber of Indigenous Populations and Traditional Communities of the MPF, which made a historical account of the work carried out in the Yanomami Indigenous Land, located in Roraima.
According to the note, despite the efforts made by the agency, the measures taken by the government were limited.
“In the understanding of the Federal Public Ministry, the serious health and food safety situation suffered by the Yanomami people, among others, results from the failure of the Brazilian State to ensure the protection of their lands. Indeed, in recent years there has been an alarming growth in the number of miners within the Yanomami Indigenous Land, estimated at more than 20,000 by the Hutukara Associação Yanomami”, declared the agency.
The note also cites deficiency in the provision of health services, lack of distribution of medicines and the presence of miners in the region as factors that contributed to the situation.
“The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office also highlights the institution’s firm commitment to continue acting quickly and diligently, in all spheres and in compliance with its constitutional mission to curb illegal mining and other illegal activities in indigenous lands, for the removal of invaders in the Yanomami Indigenous Lands and those of other peoples, such as the Munduruku and Kayapó, as well as for the strengthening of the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai) and the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (Sesai)”, concluded the agency.
In a note, the Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB) declared that the situation of the Yanomami peoples was denounced at least 21 times to the Justice. According to the entity, about 100 children died in 2022.
