Abstract
Afro-descendant an indigenous populations have systematically over 500 years lagged behind the white population includding health issues.
This secular process of exploitation lead to inequity and exclusion. It is necessary a clear understanding of the racism as a subtle social ideology of discrimination for designing and implement effective programs and policies that promote development with justice or in other words affirmative actions.
Even the World Bank recognize that nurses can provide the majority of the care in clinical and health public services. But although our mission is based on humanistic principles, we have to point out the human rights to advocate for ethnic groups that are underserved or not have access to health.
The reports of WHO and PAHO note the necessity of including the ONU´s report of Durbam´s Conference against Racism (August 2001) in the agenda of each health instituition. Particularly inLatin Americaand Caribe, we nurses must plan our actions with the main objectives of reduce and eliminate health disparities related mainly to racial an gender discrimination considering the cultural and ethnic aspects of our populations to provide culturally sensitive care.
At the last number of the OBJN, I claimed to all nurses to show to the world wide what we have done, what we are doing, and our potencial skills to improve health and care for the population (CRUZ, 2002). Now, the OBJN claim to all nurses worldwide to contribute to the overall WHO/PAHO efforts and to do as much as possible to reduce an eliminate health disparities related to racial and gender discrimination.