The problems continue in the department of La Guajira, despite the attempts of the national government to counteract the growing needs of indigenous populations and those remote from the urban area, which ended in a corruption scandal in the National Unit for Risk Management. Disasters (Ungrd).
Just five days after President Gustavo Petro’s controversial visit to that area of the country, in which he delivered bicycles with jerry cans to transport drinking water, the Ombudsman’s Office issued an alert due to the difficult situation faced by the Wayú population of the department.
According to the control entity, the most serious situation focuses on children between zero and 5 years old, who would be in terrible health conditions, caused by the lack of action by entities such as the Icbf, despite the instructions of the president. to prioritize vulnerable children.
“In a visit that we made between April 22 and 26 to Riohacha, Maicao, Uribia and Manaure, we observed with concern that the situation related to the violation of the rights of Wayú girls and boys worsens due to the lack of diligence and action of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare,” commented the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo Assis.
The control entity verified that the child population of the Wayú community has not been receiving care services from the Institute since the end of 2023, including the nutritional supplement that was provided to them periodically, which has resulted in children only having access to artisanal drinks like chicha to eat.
“Wayú children between zero and 5 years old are being fed only chicha. Reason why they have lost size and weight. This situation is easy to verify if the Institute is asked for the size and weight report for December 2023, and it is compared with the one it generates at the time it begins again with the delivery of food for that age group,” Camargo claimed.
In fact, the Ombudsman blamed the current Government for the neglect of the Wayú community, ensuring that the efforts of past administrations to end malnutrition “through the programs implemented by Family Welfare, carried out in previous years, were went to waste, since services were suspended without implementing new programs. “Continuity was lost.”
In fact, the control entity assured that the ruling issued by the Constitutional Court in 2017 to guarantee the special protection of their rights to the Wayú population remains unfulfilled and has not been complied with by the national government.
The Ombudsman’s Office even assured that these communities face serious difficulties in terms of basic and educational services, mainly affecting children and adolescents. For example, the coverage of the School Feeding Program (PAE) is insufficient, causing educators to be forced to divide food rations to reach more students.
This problem is added to the scarcity of educational material and the arduous journeys that students must undertake to reach their study centers, where approximately 80% of primary school graduates do not continue their secondary education due to the remoteness and difficulty of access to educational institutions.
The situation in La Guajira is even more complex when it comes to access to health services and the supply of drinking water. The control entity assured that the communities must move to urban centers to receive medical care, despite being affiliated with different EPS, which limits their access to the health brigades that visit the region once a year.
Additionally, the water supply is critically inadequate, forcing residents to travel long distances to obtain liquid, often of questionable quality. This problem was exacerbated by the lack of responses from the competent entities, as highlighted in the statements made by the Ombudsman regarding the lack of concrete actions to address these deficiencies.
”Implement definitive measures to solve the different problems faced by children in La Guajira. Comply once and for all with what is dictated by Sentence T-302 of 2017″, claimed Carlos Camargo. With Infobae