Chipaya is an indigenous nation located in the province of Sabaya in the department of Oruro, Bolivia. The town is located in a remote area northeast of Lake Coipasa, where people have retained key aspects of their culture. The COVID-19 pandemic did not prevent community health workers and Oruro’s Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) from providing community medical care. They offered emotional and health support, and even made house calls in the most remote areas of the community in the middle of an arid altiplano. There was no shortage of vaccines.
Medical staff learned to communicate in the language of the Uru Chipaya Nation. It wasn’t easy, since it is an ancestral tongue that has its complexities. But given the importance of cultural adaptation, they learned to express themselves in the language, listen to the community, and understand the needs of the Chipaya people.
The vaccination strategy in Chipaya was to involve the community in immunization activities, taking into account their customs and traditions, understanding their fears, and talking with the mothers and leaders so that they would allow children under the age of 5 to be vaccinated and girls over 10 to get the HPV vaccine.
Households in the community are widely scattered. Because of the distance, the local Chipayas must use different means of transportation to reach the health center to have their children vaccinated.
Doctors there are in constant communication with the local people, specifically to explain the relevance of vaccines and the importance of prevention.
The girls that have received the HPV vaccine understand its benefit.
Lizet along with other girls in the community were given an explanation of why it is good to get vaccinated against the human papillomavirus virus, which causes cervical cancer.
Margaret is Lizet’s older sister and has experienced the benefits of vaccines in her own life, so she shares her experience and knowledge with other members of the community. “I’m healthy and I feel fine,” she tells them.
Carola is the mother of three children who decided to ignore her fear of vaccines.
The community and the family unit are important in the Chipaya world view, strengthening ties between members of the indigenous nation, preserving its traditions, and enabling all members of the community to care for each other.
Carola recalls that vaccines have been in the community for many years. At first, vaccines were viewed with mistrust, she says. But when people realize that they have been good for the health of community members, they understand that these vaccines help preserve health and life, which are key to preserving indigenous nations and ancestral civilizations such as the Chipaya nation in Oruro, Bolivia.
