“Laid it Bare”: APA President Lemmel Thomas Details Indigenous Health Crisis at UN Forum
By: Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News|
NEW YORK, USA — The President of the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA), Lemmel Thomas, delivered a sobering and unfiltered testimony this week at the 25th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York. Speaking before a global audience of human rights experts and state representatives, Thomas highlighted a “generational struggle” for healthcare in Guyana’s hinterland, asserting that the survival of Indigenous culture is inextricably linked to the survival of the people.
The intervention came during the high-level human rights dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, where Thomas pushed back against official narratives of “unprecedented growth,” pointing instead to systemic inequities.
The Physical and Mental Barrier to Care
Thomas painted a harrowing picture of the logistical nightmares facing hinterland residents, where geography remains the greatest obstacle to life-saving treatment.
- Treacherous Journeys: The APA leader described how elders and the sick must still traverse rugged mountains, deep valleys, and turbulent rivers to reach basic medical facilities.
- Basic Shortages: In a striking example of neglect, Thomas noted that essential treatments like anti-venom are often unavailable in mining and logging areas, leaving men who provide for their families vulnerable to fatal snakebites.
- Maternal Crisis: He reported that poor birthing conditions persist to the point that many Indigenous women are forced to cross international borders into neighboring countries just to find a safe environment to deliver their children.
- Mental Health: Thomas raised an urgent alarm regarding Indigenous youth, stating that their mental health is being neglected as suicide reports become increasingly prevalent.
Extractive Industry & “Cultural Pollution”
A central theme of the presentation was the direct link between the encroachment of the extractive sector and the decline of community health.
- Disease Surge: Thomas linked the expansion of mining and logging to a spike in infectious diseases, specifically malaria and dengue fever, as well as the toxic long-term effects of mercury poisoning.
- Loss of Natural Medicine: He described the destruction of the environment as “pollution” that effectively dismisses and destroys traditional knowledge systems and natural medicines.
- Linguistic Exclusion: The APA highlighted that medical treatment is often delayed because healthcare providers cannot communicate in Indigenous languages, a barrier Thomas described as a form of “institutional discrimination.”
A Call for Meaningful Consultation
While acknowledging government investments in the health sector, the APA President signaled that “great inequities” persist because the people themselves are excluded from the solution-making process.
“We call on our government to conduct consistent and meaningful consultations with our councils on national healthcare that respect our self-determination for how we manage our peoples and territories,” Thomas stated.
He warned that the “politicization” of community issues and the interests of the extractive sector have left Indigenous groups divided, hindering their ability to craft responsive, culturally appropriate health programs.
Health as Sovereignty
For Lemmel Thomas and the APA, the message to the United Nations was clear: infrastructure alone—new buildings and roads—cannot solve a crisis rooted in cultural exclusion. As the 25th Session continues in New York, the APA’s testimony serves as a stark reminder that for the first peoples of Guyana, the right to health is inseparable from the right to their land, their language, and their traditional way of life.
