Health care in the indigenous communities of the departments of Cesar, Guajira and Magdalena, although it is a direct responsibility of the service provider entity Dusakawi Epsi, requires the help of the National Government and territorial entities to guarantee the food security of the peoples. ethnic groups, where malnutrition in children under 5 years of age is a health problem that arises from the social determinants in each territory.
This was announced by Pedro Vásquez Clavijo, manager of Dusakawi Epsi, during the 2022 accountability, in which he offered a balance of the investments made and the health coverage of the Kankuamo, Kogui, Wiwa, Arhuaco and Yukpa indigenous peoples. in this region.
Depending on the departments, there are different health problems. All indigenous peoples have the same social determinants, but in the end there is one in common which is food security, the scarcity of which has a considerable impact on the issue of mortality in less than 5 years due to causes associated with malnutrition.
For this reason, through the EPS, investment is being expanded with the implementation of induced demand programs, to reach and capture the health needs of each of the territories.
“In Cesar there is a complex problem, since with the exception of the Kankuamo people; The Arhuaco, Wiwa, Kogui and Yukpa lack food security, whose social determinants are alien to Dusakawi Epsi’s activities, from a health point of view,” said Vásquez Clavijo.
He added that in view of this panorama, unfortunately the risk in the death of children materializes, since there is no guarantee on the part of the national Government regarding food sovereignty, but it does punish the EPS when there is a death in less than 0- 5 years for this situation.
However, the work does not stop and through interculturality, differential activity programs within the territories, it seeks to mitigate the problem, whose final solution is in the hands of the national Government and territorial entities.
“We are bringing health directly to the beneficiaries, hiring around 70 educational agents to reach the territories. Dusakawi Epsi registers a coverage of 95% in the entire rural area and 100% in the urban area”, he reiterated.
EXPANSION IN COVERAGE
The director of the entity highlighted that in 2022 the investments established by the norm were made, 92% of the resources were allocated to activities and actions aimed at guaranteeing health in indigenous peoples.
60% was invested in the first level with actions within the territories, since the majority of users, which represents 86%, are located in rural areas of Cesar, Guajira and Magdalena. Coverage in terms of service provision has been expanded, considerable investments were made in induced demand processes trying to reach each of the houses and people.
SIX MORE MONTHS OF INTERVENTION
Regarding the special surveillance process carried out by Supersalud, this was extended for six months, so that Dusakawi Epsi can operate in optimal conditions within the General System of Social Security in Health.
The manager Vásquez Clavijo clarified that an intervention is not synonymous with liquidation, for this reason progress has been made in the reporting of information. “Dusakawi Epsi does not have financial problems, he had administrative problems in handling information,” he said.
In the next six months, the aim is to improve the indicators that led to this measure, so there is already an action plan that was articulated with Supersalud. During this time, it is hoped to overcome 90% of the deficiencies and correct the findings, in which there are 17 orders that have already been corrected.