Family planning among indigenous populations in Latin America

Type Journal Article - International Family Planning Perspectives
Title Family planning among indigenous populations in Latin America
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 1995
Page numbers 143-166
URL http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2114395.pdf
Abstract
Approximately 40 million people living in five Latin American countries--Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru--retain the language and much of the culture of the ancient pre-Columbian civilizations of the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas. These indigenous people tend to be poor, rural residents with little education. Long an underserved population from a health care perspective, the indigenous population has also proved difficult to reach with family planning services. An examination of two promising projects--one in Guatemala and one in Bolivia--suggests several potentially useful strategies for reaching indigenous people, among them the use of community workers and traditional health practitioners to promote family planning, the provision of a mix of maternal and child health services along with family planning and the employment of bilingual and bicultural staff members.

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