Direito à saúde indígena: as barreiras quanto ao processo de reconhecimento dos medicamentos fitoterápicos oriundos dos conhecimentos tradicionais

Abstract

The research was developed through the central thematic axis of the human right to health for Indigenous Peoples and aims to identify to what extent cultural and legal aspects prevent the recognition of herbal medicines from traditional knowledge. The analysis of the possible existing barriers to the process of regulation of herbal medicines from the Brazilian legislation emerges as problematic. Regarding the type of research, it is essentially bibliographical and documental, carried out through readings of various works, with files that bring together the key elements for the vision defended in the thesis. Regarding the results achieved, we highlight: The process of regulating herbal medicines needs to preserve traditional knowledge and promote improvements in the health conditions of the communities that use them, valuing cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. The scientifization of indigenous knowledge can be a barrier to this regulation, since there is no fair and equitable approach to the incorporation of these cultural assets into the scientific, technological or productive world. The neocolonial mentality and the practice of biopiracy are problems that affect the protection of the rights of communities holding traditional knowledge and biological resources. There is no public policy that promotes the active and informed participation of these communities. The matrix of colonial power is related to the lack of public policies aimed at the health of indigenous peoples, generating inequality and marginalization of these communities. Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization recognizes the right of self-determination of indigenous peoples, relevant in the context of the regulation of phytotherapics from traditional communities, but the Ministry of Health does not propose actions to promote the use of phytotherapics by the SUS and reduce bureaucracy in the regulation process so that the indigenous themselves regulate the phytotherapics from their communities. The inclusion of herbal medicines by the SUS can contribute to guaranteeing the right to health of indigenous peoples. Although there is a National Policy for the Health Care of Indigenous Peoples that recognizes the importance of traditional indigenous medicine, the lack of explanation of how the articulation between traditional indigenous health systems and health services will occur can generate difficulties. The regulation of herbal medicines is a lengthy and bureaucratic process, which hinders the access of indigenous peoples to regulatory procedures. 10 Given the cultural and legal barriers to the regulation of these traditional herbal medicines, it is suggested, for a new model of regulation that meets the specificities of indigenous peoples, that the universal principles of freedom and equality, interconnected and interdependent in the context of the rights of indigenous peoples, be considered; the right to self-determination and the right to culture, related to human rights and fundamental to the preservation of the identity and existence of indigenous peoples. Interculturality and decoloniality are important in the process of developing the regulatory framework for traditional herbal medicines used by indigenous peoples, so that they can be included in the SUS list in order to guarantee the right to health. We hope to have contributed to the study and improvement of the regulatory model of herbal medicines derived from traditional indigenous knowledge.