violations of the rights of the guarani of mato grosso do sul state, brazil

7. MALNUTRITION AND POOR HEALTHThe destruction of the Guarani’s forest andoccupation of their lands by outsiders has meantthat hunting and fishing are no longer possible,and there is barely enough land to plant crops. In2006, 90% of Guarani Kaiowá depended on foodbaskets (cesta básica) provided by the state fortheir survival. 58 This dependency on the stategovernment and FUNASA for food is humiliatingfor the Guarani who were once self-sufficient andenjoyed a healthy diet.of malnutrition in Mato Grosso do Sul. 61 In2004, 21 children of Dourados reserve died ofmalnutrition. 62 In 2005, 31 Guarani Kaiowá childrendied of malnutrition in Mato Grosso do Sul. 63 In2008, 24 children in Dourados reserve sufferedfrom severe malnutrition and 200 from moderatemalnutrition. 64 This malnutrition suffered by theGuarani led the public prosecutor of Dourados tostate in 2005 that ‘Ethiopia is here’. 65Guarani Kaiowá, Amilton Lópes said to Survival‘it is essential for us to have more land to liveour lives in dignity. We depend on food basketsnow. They are insufficient and we want to beindependent and we want to grow and provideour own food’. 59In reference to the very basic food items thebaskets contain (with no protein or vegetables),Marcos Homero Ferreira Lima of the MinistérioPúblico Federal declared that ‘in the basic foodbasket delivered by FUNAI, there is no variety’. 60This failure to permit a balanced diet, as well asthe unreliability of their deliverance has resultedin a high rate of malnutrition amongst the Guarani.Lack of land, overcrowding and poordiet has led to high rates of malnutritionand infant mortality for the Guarani.Data presented in 2008 by CIMI indicate that, infive years, 80 indigenous children died as a resultThis malnutrition is likely to be exacerbated by thepesticides which are used on the soya plantations13