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.
