Poor health is widely recognized in Africa however the lower status and the deprived access of nomadic and indigenous tribes in Africa has rarely been acknowledged. Over many years, many efforts have been made in order to facilitate the accessibility of indigenous tribes to education and healthcare however this issue is still to be seen in this day and age. This is due to the fact that tribes are situated within remote areas which are distant and separated from modern civilization, in which the people have naturally emanated from the land protecting their traditions for many centuries. Furthermore, nomadic groups are often discriminated against by health care providers and do not receive the basic human rights every person should have and no resolution has yet to be deemed adequate to solve this issue.
Despite the efforts of international organizations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), the services and programs which were attempted are too costly and ineffective. Nomadism is seen to be situated in approximately half of the African countries in which people migrate with their herds of animals either in response to the nature of the environment or periodically and for that reason causing any security surveillance data to be absent. In addition to that, the concept of globalization and modernization has been a threat to the indigenous tribes as they are coerced to abandon their previously established traditions through physical attacks and visualize the people of the tribes as second-class citizens. This is evident as a President once said:
‘How can you have stone-age creatures continue to exist in the time of computers? If the Bushmen want to survive, they must change, otherwise, like the dodo, they will perish.
By promoting and encouraging people of the indigenous tribes to acquire and gain education, can enable them to negotiate with proponents and teach them the traditional way of life in aspects such as agriculture and eradicate the sense of hatred between them and instead promote peace and tranquility. Having access to education and healthcare is a basic human right that should be available from birth to death.
Definition of Key Terms
Indigenous
Indigenous people or things are things that have originated from the place and are remained in the place in which they were found rather than being brought in foreignly
Nomadic
Nomadic is the word used to describe someone if they would migrate from one place to another instead of staying at the same place
Globalization
There are multiple types of globalization:
Political globalization
Social globalization
Economic globalisation
Political globalization is the process in which several groups interact and cooperate with each other allowing the world to be more interconnected.
Social globalization is the act of sharing ideas and knowledge between different countries, the internet and social media is a good example of a platform that enables social globalization to be available.
Economic globalization is a word used to describe the association of the different economies through trading allowing for the development of one big global economy.
Second-class citizens
A second-class citizen refers to an individual who is discriminated against and receives fewer opportunities and rights even though they are a citizen or legal resident in the country or state.
Dodo
Dodo refers to the extinct and flightless bird with a fleshy body, short wings, big head, and heavy hooked beak. The animal was often to be found in Mauritius until the 17th century.
Bushmen
An individual who is a member of one of the 1st groups to live in southern Africa particularly found in the Kalahari desert and are traditionally hunter-gatherers but are now predominantly farmers.
Background Information
The situation of indigenous tribes
Tribes very often migrate depending on seasons, the availability of high-yielding soil as well as due to the situation politically. Furthermore, there was not an individual in authority who was responsible for the tribes within the area; instead, the power and authority was spread out over many people and this was dependent on the individual’s entitlement to the land enabling them to have some form of power over the household or the tribe. In addition to that, members of the tribes were independent and built their own shelters, produced their own food, and managed their own security and safety.
Education
Previously, there was no form of an official and authorized education as it was believed that it would be of no need and no use instead gained an ‘education’ through apprenticeships by learning skills and the responsibilities of being a member of the tribe by observing older members. Usually, each individual would learn more than one skill, not including the values and responsibilities of the tribe.
Skills which the members can acquire are but are not limited to:
Dancing
Farming
Winemaking
Cooking (females would mostly do this)
The practice of herbal medicine
How to carve - stools, masks, furniture, etc.
Another significant method that played a role in the informal education of indigenous people was storytelling. Elderly members and griots would gather children and tell stories about the history of the tribe and what is expected of the children; encouraging obedience and ethical values which are vital in order to cooperate with other members of the community. In addition to that, festivals and rituals were also used to teach members about the history of the tribe however rituals were usually used to coach young adults about the responsibilities each member has such as teaching females how to care for their family as well as how to cook and clean the household whereas males are taught how to hunt and farm to provide for the family.
Obstacles that indigenous people may face are but not limited to:
Lack of respect and schooling facilities
Education systems usually ignore and do not respect the cultures of indigenous people and many teachers are not able to speak the same language. Furthermore, there are many unqualified teachers meaning students achieve lower results in standardized tests compared to schools situated in non-rural areas which can be revealed in reports made by the Northern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality. In addition to this, In one occurrence - teachers took the same test as the students, and 3/4ths of the teachers had failed.
Bullying
Many children arrive to school hungry, ill, and tired and are often bullied. This causes poor performance and increases the likelihood of the child dropping out. Indigenous girls are common victims due to gender discrimination, unfavorable school environments, and sexual abuse.
Healthcare accessibility
It is a challenge for indigenous people to receive access to healthcare due to poor infrastructure and insufficient staff. Professor James Anaya (the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) visited Congo and reported that there is no cultural adaptation in the delivery of health services and more means are required in order to improve the healthcare accessibility to indigenous tribes. Moreover, indigenous people outlined the lack of money to pay for prescription drugs and due to the villages not having any healthcare services, they are coerced to rely on healthcare facilities located in Bantu villages that discriminate against indigenous people.
Barriers that indigenous people face when accessing healthcare are but not limited to:
Belief in traditional herbs which are free - these are inexpensive and are often not as effective as modern medications to treat the patient
Language barriers - health professionals are unaware of the needs of the patient leading to misdiagnosis and wrong medications given
Inadequate number of indigenous health staff - this causes staff to be involved with multiple people and inefficient care for the patients
Major Countries and Organisations Involved
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)
The forum was established on 28 July 2000 by the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) after various meetings in which the idea of the creation of the forum was discussed in 1993 at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. The UNPFII is the UN’s main body in discussing and solving issues involved with the rights of indigenous people by giving advice and reporting back to ECOSOC. The mandate of the forum is to:
Deliver expert advice and provide recommendations to ECOSOC and to other agencies constituting part of the UN’s system.
Raise awareness and encourage the unification and solidarity of individuals in activities and programs relating to issues based on the situation of native and indigenous tribes/objects/people etc.
Gather and distribute knowledge based on the issues.
A two-week session is held each year at the UN’s headquarters in New York City however can also take place in other cities agreed upon such as Geneva.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)
The ACHPR is a quasi-judicial body in whose purpose is to protect human rights and group rights across Africa and also analyze the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ rights and evaluate anything which violates the charter. This consists of investigations of human rights violations, producing programs of action which act towards the uplifting of human rights as well as creating a system to enable effective communication between countries in order to get immediate information on violations of human rights.
Congo
The Republic of Congo endorsed a law in order on 30th December 2010 to promote and protect the rights of the indigenous tribes and is the first country in Africa to embrace it. Conscious of the requirement for efforts to be made on indigenous people in order to achieve the Millenium Development Goals, UNICEF have ensured authorities help improve the situation of indigenous people and have recommended the law to be adopted. This has remained as part of the history in the development for indigenous people in Africa.
Botswana
The Botswana government has attempted to address the situation of indigenous tribes by the Remote Area Development Policy of 1975 and the program recognizes the requirement of measures to improve the situation. In the program, the government “shall adopt a community-led development approach which aims to promote participatory processes and community participation in issues affecting their own development”. Measures will be introduced across a variety of sections in order to improve education and healthcare accessibility. Due to the challenges of healthcare accessibility, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples emphasized the need to develop a respect for traditional medicine as this is practiced by indigenous people but is excluded from healthcare.
Namibia
The problems arise due to poverty and discrimination, more than 80% of people live more than 80km from health facilities and are often not equipped to deal with complicated issues. In addition to that, staff are unable to speak the same language resulting in miscommunication and wrong diagnoses. The country has a high prevalence of AIDS and indigenous communities are vulnerable because of the lack of knowledge as well as treatment. The Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recommends immediate measures to help reduce the effects.
South Africa
In South Africa, there is a lack of access to safe water coupled with high levels of violence causing many diseases and damaged bodies. The Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recommended:
A fully equipped clinic in Platfontein that serves the surrounding areas and the introduction of safe drinking water
Services that should target specifically on indigenous communities
The introduction of safe drinking water to indigenous people
Timeline of Events
Date
Description of event
1957
ILO Convention 107 on Indigenous and Tribal Populations is established
1972
Study of the Problem of Discrimination against Indigenous Populations begins (can also be known as the Martinez Cobo study)
1982
The Working Group on Indigenous Populations is established by the UN
1984
The Study of the Problem of Discrimination against Indigenous Populations is presented to the UN
1985
The Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations is established
1989
ILO Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in the Independent States is established
1993
The World Conference on Human Rights advised for the establishment of a Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
International Year of the World’s Indigenous People
1994
The first International Decade for Indigenous People (1994-2004)
2000
Establishment of the UNPFII
2001
The act of a Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous People is established by the Commission on Human Rights
2003
A voluntary fund is adopted by the UN to support the Permanent Forum
2005
The Second International Decade for Indigenous People is launched (2005-2015) as well as a fund to support projects
2007
The UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples is established by the UN General assembly
Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is created by the Human Rights Council
2014
First World Conference on Indigenous Peoples as the UN General Assembly had a meeting
Previous Attempts to solve the Issue and Possible Solutions
Millenium Development Goals (MDGs)
The Millenium Development Goals are goals that all UN member states agreed to in September 2000. The goals were aimed to be achieved by 2015 and provided an opportunity for a focus on indigenous people. The report of the 4th session of the UNPFII stated “Indigenous peoples have the right to benefit from the Millenium Development Goals and from other goals and aspirations contained in the Millenium Declaration to the same extent as all others”. Unfortunately, the goals were not achieved and failed to address the disparities that exist upon indigenous people.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
The UNDRIP defines the rights and “prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples”. The aim is to encourage countries to help indigenous people and solve issues such as health, education, and employment. There is also an emphasis on the ability of indigenous people to protect their culture and tradition as well as encourage their participation in all matters that concern them and their right to remain distinct and follow their own economic and social development goals.
A possible solution that could tackle this issue is to build public awareness and set up fundraising events in order to make people aware of the situation of indigenous communities and the problems they go through each day. This could encourage people to donate money and fund organizations such as World Health Organisation in order to alleviate their suffering.
Relevant Treaties
List the relevant UN and other treaties created to tackle this issue.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2 October 2007 (A/RES/61/295)
International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, 12 February 2003 (A/RES/57/192)
International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, 15 February 2002 (A/RES/56/140)
United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), 21 February 2003 (A/RES/70/209)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 16 December 1966 (A/RES/2200)
Global health and foreign policy, 12 December 2012 (A/RES/67/81)
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