Inclusive social development: The next generation of policies for overcoming poverty and reducing inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean

Inclusive social development: the next generation of policies for overcoming poverty...
Figure I.9
Latin America (6 countries): indigenous population aged 6-22 years attending an educational establishment,
by age group, census rounds of 2000 and 2010
(Percentages)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
82.8
77.8
72.9 72.1
74.4
38.3
32.6
96.1
88.2
86.3
75.3
95.7
90.6
76.8
74.7
92.3
78.3 77.6 81.9
72.6 72.0
62.2
57.9
59.3
52.9
51.7
39.8
34.5
34.9
20.4
20.2
24.0
24.5
18.8
13.3
15.0
0
6-11 12-17 18-22
Age group
Brazil
6-11 12-17 18-22 6-11 12-17 18-22 6-11 12-17 18-22 6-11 12-17 18-22 6-11 12-17 18-22
Age group
Costa Rica
Age group
Ecuador
Age group
Mexico
2000 census round 2010 census round
Age group
Panama
Age group
Venezuela
(Bol. Rep. of)
Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Los pueblos indígenas en América Latina. Avances en el último decenio y retos
pendientes para la garantía de sus derechos (LC/L.3902), Santiago, 2014.
As regards the successful conclusion of primary schooling, most of the ten countries with information available
from household surveys reported no differences by ethnic or racial group in and around 2013 (completion rates
stand at approximately 90% for all groups). Nevertheless, when secondary schooling begins, differences arise and
become more accentuated over time: in some countries, the tertiary education completion rates are close to 5% for
the indigenous and Afro-descendent population, compared to over 15% for the rest of the population.
Previous studies compiled by ECLAC/OIJ (2004) revealed that the leading reasons for the lower participation
of indigenous and Afro-descendent people in secondary and post-secondary education included higher rates of
poverty and child and adolescent labour, the distance of schools from their homes, particularly in rural areas,
the low quality of the educational facilities to which they have access, the relevance of their study programmes
and discrimination.
Another clear manifestation of the inequality and exclusion suffered by these groups can be seen in the
shortcomings in their exercise of the right to health. Fertility rates among indigenous women, in all the countries
where information is available, are higher than the national averages. The situation of Afro-descendants, when
compared with both indigenous women and the general population, varies more prominently. As regards health
care during pregnancy, although the cited study indicates that the available information is fragmentary, it shows that
in general, indigenous women receive fewer prenatal checkups and less professional attention during childbirth and
that they more frequently give birth at home. This could be due to problems in health centre access (non-existence
or remoteness of facilities, geographical factors), cultural constraints affecting service accessibility (linguistic issues,
differences in medical models) or other obstacles related to the demand for health care (lack of information, refusals
or mistreatment) (ECLAC/UNFPA/PAHO, 2010).
The same study (ECLAC, 2014c) indicates that in spite of the progress observed, professional attention during
childbirth remains systematically less frequent among indigenous women.
Finally, as regards child health, and again, in spite of the progress recorded over the past decade, the persistence
of high levels of poverty, residence in rural areas and their parents’ low academic achievements make indigenous
children much more vulnerable to early death and chronic undernutrition than the non-indigenous population.
Chapter I
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