With the 2008 International AIDS conference taking place in Mexico City during August 3-8, I wanted to include a link to the conference’s main web site, as well as highlighting the programme-at-a-glance that includes the schedule breakdown, links to powerpoint presentations, and more.
This Sunday Mexican President Felipe Calderón will host the 17th annual International AIDS conference in Mexico City. As part of this, I wanted to highlight an article in yesterday’s Washington post. While the United States government does not support providing free needles to intravenous drug users, Mexico launched a program to provide clean needles to lower the risk of HIV-AIDS and other diseases. As a result, the rates of infection are half the rate as the U.S., and one-third the rate of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Panama, according to UN AIDS.
However, in Tijuana, the rates of HIV-AIDS infection are three times higher than the national average. Much of this is attributed to the high levels of drug use and prostitution, particularly at one of the world’s busiest borders (an estimated 38 million legal border crossings in 2007, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection). As a result, the problem of HIV-AIDS has become a transnational problem. A survey in conjunction with the University of California at San Diego revealed the following:
“64 percent of 116 HIV-positive Tijuana residents crossed into the United States at least once a month. Nearly half of men having sex with men in Tijuana and 75 percent of those in San Diego reported having partners across the border. And of 1,000 prostitutes interviewed in Tijuana, 69 percent had U.S. clients who crossed the border for their services.”
To combat this program, the article highlights the efforts of one man, Angel Cabrera, that passes out free condoms and sterilized needles to drug users and prostitutes. While he feels his efforts lead to “small victories,” it appears his efforts may be a step in mitigating the spread of disease. See video here for more information.
Contributed by Rich Basas of FPA’s Migration Blog:
This past week the New York Times reporter Marc Lacey did a report on the ever-growing problem of HIV entering smaller communities in Mexico. He found that much of the problem comes from Migrant workers who earn much of their wages in the US and often come from and have their families settled in smaller towns throughout Mexico. Many of the wives and girlfriends of these workers often get infected from their husbands who contracted the disease through various means while residing in the US.
Lacey offers many explanations why there is a possible high increase of infections in Mexico. The main reason is that some of the migrant workers often spend months if not years apart from their families and often form other relationships apart from their family inside the US. Prostitution is also a factor as many workers take to using these services while apart from their families. Another theory is that when many of these workers return home there is little use of birth control methods and the fact that discussing HIV and AIDS is not as socially accepted in rural Mexico than in much of the US. Please refer to other theories in the article itself.
Despite all these issues the rate of HIV infection is still 0.3% in Mexico compared to 0.6% in the US. What needs to be considered however is that since many of these workers are essentially undocumented, it also means that there is little information about their health or even their identity. What is required is a public health campaign focused on the “undocumented” workers, as well as recognition of the psychological stresses many of these individuals face living apart from their families with risks to their lives and in some cases severe poverty. It must be acknowledged that because someone may be illegal in a country, it doesn’t mean they have less of a right to basic human rights and needs. That is the only way to begin a process of recognizing the effect of HIV in Mexico and between borders.
At a conference convened by the International AIDS Society and sponsored by the United Nations, 25 leaders and HIV-positive women activists from across Latin America gathered to strategize for the 17th International AIDS Conference to be held in Mexico next year. Participants emphasized the need to address the social stigma and cultural conditions affiliated with the disease, particularly as it relates to women. According to the United Nations Population Fund, just three years ago, the ratio of men to women with HIV/AIDS in Latin America was seven or eight for every one woman with the virus; today, the ratio is three to one.
See: HIV-Positive Women Activists in Latin America Stand Tall (Inter Press Service)