A/75/185 Health and hygiene initiatives 54. In Australia, a regional clinic led by aboriginal people opened in Toowoomba, Queensland. The clinic provides locals with a culturally safe place to be tested and treated for COVID-19. The clinic also treats non-indigenous vulnerable residents. 55. Indigenous peoples are utilizing a variety of traditional and no n-traditional techniques and knowledge, sometimes in combination, to respond to the current pandemic. Traditional air purification processes such as smudging are reported in Africa and in the Americas. Community manufacture of cleansing and disinfecting products for hands and for their homes, made from plants and ashes, are reported in such places as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and Morocco. 72 Medicinal plants are widely relied upon worldwide. 56. In El Salvador, an initiative led by indigenous youth has carried out sanitization days for vehicles entering their municipality and smudging in homes. In another community, indigenous youth working on a memorial garden have focused on growing medicinal plants to produce hygiene products with saniti zing properties. 73 In the United States of America, the community of Pojoaque in New Mexico has made hotel rooms in its casino available to house infected individuals from tribes across the state who need to be quarantined. 74 In Peru, an indigenous peoples’ organization has set up a community surveillance system, with a network of focal points in each community to record on a daily basis the number of new infections. 75 In Nagaland, India, many indigenous communities have built eco -friendly quarantine centres without any support from the Government. These quarantine centres have been used for 14-day isolation of returnees and villagers working in cities and abroad. 76 Community care 57. Indigenous communities’ strong sense of solidarity has been crucial f or the survival of individuals and communities as a whole. Indigenous women are playing a pivotal role in this respect: in Morocco, indigenous women are transmitting the traditions of tiwizi and tada to help members of their own communities and other tribes through small fundraising activities to alleviate the difficulties of families most in need during the lockdown. 77 58. In Canada, increased remote mental health support platforms, including counselling materials and a secure online platform to reach out to communities, have been put in place and supported by the First Peoples Wellness Circle, an indigenous organization. In British Columbia, the First Nations Health Authority supported traditional food-sharing by releasing a guide on “Sharing the harvest d uring the pandemic”, with information on safe preparation, distribution and sanitization. 78 Planning and documenting 59. In Thailand, young women researchers interviewed 90 indigenous women to assess community concerns and needs related to the pandemic; on the basis of their analysis, indigenous organizations started an online fundraising campaign to support __________________ 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 16/27 Submissions and contributions by Action pour la promotion des minorités autochtones en Afrique Centrale, Minority Rights Group International and Moroccan Amazigh organizations. Submission by Consejo Coordinador Nacional Indígena Salvadoreño. Submission by Carmen Roybal. Joint submission by Federación Nativa del Río Madre de Dios y Afluen tes and EarthRights International. Joint submission by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development and partners. Submission by Moroccan Amazigh organizations. Submissions by Chiefs of Ontario and the Union of British Columbia Indian Ch iefs. 20-09737