Resumen

BEVILACQUA, Mariapia et al. Guidelines to strengthen the program of malaria in remote areas with indigenous population in the Caura, Venezuela. Bol Mal Salud Amb [online]. 2009, vol.49, n.1, pp.53-72. ISSN 1690-4648.

Malaria is reemerging in Venezuela, especially in the south of the country despite prevention and control efforts. In 2007, the State of Bolívar represented 71.2% of the 29,940 cases of malaria diagnosed in the country, with an Annual Parasitic Index of 19.3 cases per 1,000 inhabitants. For indigenous communities that inhabit remote areas in the State of Bolívar (Caura river basin), malaria represents one of the most important problems of public health and they perceive the illness as “ultimately uncontrollable”, generating socioeconomic costs and affecting their development and conservation efforts of their traditional habitat. The Wesoichay Project started in 2005 to formulate a public management model for the control the malaria in the Caura river basin and to strengthen the capacity of the government and local communities to implement it. The main findings show information gaps pertinent for the planning and evaluation of malaria; limited health provision and research capacity; increase in human-vector contact opportunities due to the transformation of ecosystems around communities and population migration patterns inside and out of their traditional territory, and; low community participation to identify and adapt answers for malaria prevention and control.

Palabras clave : malaria; indigenous peoples; Caura; Venezuela.