Intercultural care and indigenous peoples

What it is

Colombia recognises and protects its ethnic and cultural diversity (Constitution, art. 7). In health this means services must be acceptable to each culture: speaking the language or using an interpreter, understanding how the culture explains illness, and coordinating with traditional healers. Law 1751 of 2015 lists interculturality and the protection of indigenous peoples among the principles of the right to health, and recognises the Indigenous Own and Intercultural Health System (SISPI), defined in Decree 1953 of 2014. Intercultural ethics is not relativism: it respects differences while protecting each person's rights.

Key facts

• Law 1751, art. 6, literal b: actors in the system respect the cultures, particularities and health worldview of peoples and communities, and allow their participation.
• Law 1751, principle l: interculturality, which recognises traditional knowledge and practices and seeks to integrate them into care.
• Law 1751, principle m: for indigenous peoples, comprehensive health is understood according to their worldviews and is developed in the SISPI; principle n: with Roma, Black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal and Palenquero peoples it is applied by agreement with them.
• Decree 1953 of 2014, art. 75: SISPI principles: accessibility, therapeutic complementarity, reciprocity and interculturality.
• Decree 1953 of 2014, art. 76: own health is harmony and balance according to each people's worldview, in relation to family, community and territory.
• CIOMS 2016, guideline 7: research in communities requires engaging them from the design stage, without replacing individual consent.

In clinical practice

• Use a trained interpreter, not a child from the family, to explain a diagnosis or seek consent.
• Ask how the patient understands their illness and which traditional treatments they use, to integrate them when there is no risk.
• Coordinate with the traditional healer or the community health authority if the patient wishes.
• If a capable adult refuses treatment for cultural reasons, it is respected like any informed refusal; for children their best interest prevails (Law 1751, art. 6, principle f).

Legal framework in Colombia

• Political Constitution, art. 7 (ethnic and cultural diversity).
• Statutory Law 1751 of 2015, art. 6, literal b and principles l, m and n.
• Decree 1953 of 2014 (7 October): a special regime for indigenous territories until Congress passes the law under art. 329 of the Constitution; arts. 74 to 76 on the SISPI.
• Official texts checked on 2026-11-13 at secretariasenado.gov.co and funcionpublica.gov.co.

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Educational content on ethics and health law; not legal advice. Laws and case law change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, read the text in force and ask a lawyer or the medical ethics tribunal.

Sources: Ley Estatutaria 1751 de 2015, art. 6 (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2015); Decreto 1953 de 2014, régimen especial de los territorios indígenas (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2014); Constitución Política de Colombia de 1991, art. 7 (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 1991); Multiculturalism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2024); International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans (CIOMS, 2016).

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