The COVID-19 pandemic and the permanence of non-Western medical traditions in the Peruvian Amazon in the 21st century

Chavez J.L.L.; Gálvez I.; Ortiz D.; Villcas N.Y.L. · Apuntes (2026) · DOI: 10.21678/apuntes.100.2504

Resumen

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that in 21st century Peru, different ways of understanding the origin of diseases coexist, as well as variety in the treatments that should be followed in the event of a pandemic crisis. Along with modern Western medicine based on science, practiced in hospitals and clinics, and historically supported by the Peruvian State, there are indigenous Andean and Amazonian medical traditions, visions more linked to the religious and spiritual, self-medication, as well as denialist positions. The objective of this research is to analyze the explanations and responses given to COVID-19 in the Peruvian Amazon, specifically to show the permanence of traditional ideas in health despite state efforts to westernize health throughout Republican history. © Creative Commons Attribution.

Instituciones: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú; Universidad del Pacífico