The Indigenous Matsés community in the Peruvian Amazon is grappling with a significant health crisis, facing epidemics of malaria and hepatitis B. Initially reporting on environmental threats to their territory, Aimee Gabay’s observations shifted to the community’s health struggles.
The Matsés, who initiated contact with the outside world in 1969 due to conflicts with encroaching outsiders, have since been exposed to diseases to which they lack immunity. The current health emergency is worsened by climate change and drought, which create favorable breeding conditions for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Simultaneously, prolonged dry weather disrupts river transit, a critical route for the Matsés to access healthcare services.
Source: Mongabay