This Sunday Mexican President Felipe Calderon 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.
