Half of the children of the indigenous Embera Katio and Embera Chami communities die of hunger and lack access to adequate health care services, said indigenous leader Martin Ciagama on Monday.
According to a report by Caracol Radio, mothers in the community often have to walk more than twelve hours in order to reach the hospital.
The archdiosis of the community said that many children die of preventable diseases such as diarrhea, malnutrition, and bronchitis. Mothers also die during complications in child birth due to lack of access to health services.
The Consejo Regional de Autoridades Indigenas de Risaralda (CRIR) reports that children in the Embera community have the highest infant mortality rate for malnutrition in Colombia. 85% of the children under seven in the community lack health care and only 54% of adults over 60 are registered with a health care service provider.