in viet nam access to maternal health care services ranges from per cent in urban areas to as low as per cent in remote areas of the central highland and northern uplands regions inhabited by indigenous peoples similar trends have been recorded throughout latin america as well as in the richer developed countries however between the s and the end of the century a slowing or stalling of indigenous health improvements measured by life expectancy meant that the gap failed to close significantly canada or even widened new zealand and the united states in fact because indigenous peoples are essentially invisible in the data collection of many international agencies and in most national censuses the disparities in their health situation as compared to other groups continue to be obscured similarly even when indigenous peoples appear in health data they are often conceived of as a percentage of a national population which unicef has noted can be misleading in as much as the distribution of certain indigenous peoples does not correspond to national boundaries