| | |  Health & Beauty 
Mexicans in US Lack Medical Aid
 Rocío Zayas & Adrián Jiménez - The News
go to original
October 21, 2010
Mexico’s northern border is a place on “yellow alert” due to the return of Mexican emigrants infected with the HIV-AIDS virus. “The disease is as prevalent in Mexico as it is in the United States,” reported the National Center for Prevention and Control of AIDS (Censida) on Tuesday.
 |  | A large number of emigrants living north of the border, mainly the illegals, have no access to health care. |  | | |
The Center’s director, José Antonio Izazola Licea, explained that the prevalence in Mexico is 0.37 percent, while in our neighbor to the north it is 0.6 percent, meaning that 6 out of a 1000 people are infected. “If this is confirmed, we are evidently experiencing a yellow alert and even a red alert in regards to this matter,” said the director. He also explained that these are just preliminary figures and that Censida will formulate a report that will be sent to the Secretariat of Health to deal with this issue immediately.
The increase in the number of infected people is mainly due to the sexual urges Mexicans face when crossing the border. “There is contact with non-protected sex workers,” said the director. During an interview for Binational Health Week, the director of Censida also stated that injecting drugs, and the impossibility of appropriate healthcare has contributed to infecting people, as well as other factors like sexual violence and rape.
“For instance, if someone has an ulcerous sexually transmitted disease, the chances of becoming infected with AIDS increase. Since emigrants have very limited access to health services, the possibility of transmission is biologically increased,” added the director.
Risk of contagion among the male population is higher than the female because women are more stable than men in regards to sexual encounters. “When crossing the border, men tend to engage more in sexual contact than women,” stated the director. He explained that although the prevalence in Mexico is greater in urban areas, the biggest threat is found in rural areas, since these areas are larger.
“One out of three of the more than 30 million Mexicans that live in the United States has access to health services,” said Julián Ventura, undersecretary of the North-American section of the Foreign Affairs Secretariat (SRE). Nevertheless, the Health Secretariat (SSA) stated that most of the emigrants of Mexican origin born in the U.S. have access to health services.
The Health Secretariat stated that the average age of the more than 30 million Mexicans in the United States is 25; meaning, they are in the most productive stage of their lives. “It is necessary to address this problem,” added Ventura.
LOOKING FOR STRATEGIES
Health Secretary José Ángel Córdova Villalobos announced that in conjunction with U.S. authorities, the Secretariat is seeking to open the possibility of having Mexican physicians doing their social service in the U.S. to attend to the six million Mexican citizens who do not possess this right. Although now incipient, the project will be presented to the Congress so that the pertinent adaptations are made.
At a press conference, Córdova Villalobos stated that he had a conversation with the President of the United States, Barack Obama, about community clinics (seven thousand of them) which could provide attention to emigrants who have no social security. Ventura added that around 3 million Mexicans did not have access to social security in the United States, but Córodova Villalobos contradicted this statement by saying there are around 5 or 6 million Mexicans that do not have access.
In spite of the fact that the number of unhealthy Mexicans is not entirely known, lawmakers know for sure that the main diseases emigrants suffer are AIDS, obesity, and injuries stemming from heavy labor, namely construction, that Americans do not want to do. |
|
| |
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us