Mexico

Population:

  • 128,833,976 (2020 estimate) [1]

  • Infant mortality rate - 12.5 per 1,000 live births. [1]

Economy:

  • 12th largest global economy based on GDP, highly complex (21st overall) [2]

  • Upper-middle income society, with GDP per capita at over $18,000 USD [2]

Politics:

  • Left populist administration arose in response to neoliberalization driven by U.S. policies.

  • Still dealing with significant challenges, including organized crime, lack of responsiveness to COVID-19 and social issues.

Sources:

  1. Worldometer (based on latest elaborations of UN data), “Mexico” (2020)

  2. Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), "Mexico" (2020)

  3. The Economist Intelligence Unit, “Mexico” (2020)

 HEALTHCARE

Universal health care provided under the Seguro Popular system: [1]

  • Technically, nearly all people are covered, but the requirement to register with the national service has leds to many gaps (especially among the indigenous population). [1]

  • Cash transfers required for many services. [1]

Level of social control required for enrollment in universal healthcare system has also reached limits [1]

  • People may be required to attend health talks, exercise programs, and send children to approved schools. [1]

  • Local clinic staff sometimes viewed as authoritarian figures. [1]

Source for all stats:

  1. Ethnicity and Health, “Preventable infant deaths, lone births and lack of registration in Mexican indigenous communities: health care services and the afterlife of colonialism” (2017)

ONGOING ISSUES

  • Obesity (especially among women of childbearing age) [1]

  • Inequality across of healthcare access and socioeconomic status among the indigenous population [2]

  • Invasive procedures by healthcare staff [3]

  • Linguistic, geographical, and cultural barriers  to healthcare access [3]

  • Mistrust of healthcare workers [4]

  • Poor quality of medical supplies and facilities [4]

Sources:

  1. Maternal Health Task Force (Harvard Chan School), “Importance of Weight Management in Women of Childbearing Age” (2018)

  2. Ethnicity and Health, “Preventable infant deaths, lone births and lack of registration in Mexican indigenous communities: health care services and the afterlife of colonialism” (2017)

  3. International Journal for Equity in Health, “Labor and delivery service use: indigenous women’s preference and the health sector response in the Chiapas Highlands of Mexico” (2015)

  4. The Guardian, “'What's wrong with you Mexico?' Health workers attacked amid Covid-19 fears” (2020)

 OBSERVED SOLUTIONS

Expansion of programs to train midwives and traditional birth attendants [1] 

  • Mexico has one of world’s highest rates of C-sections. [1]

  • Hundreds of maternal deaths linked to unnecessary interventions in hospital settings. [1]

Programs to educate women of childbearing age (and to provide more resources before, during, and after pregnancy), including [2]:

  • Prevention of teen pregnancies. [2]

  • Recognizing symptoms of obstetric emergencies. [2]

Sources:

  1. NPR, “Mexican Women Look For Alternatives To Cesarean Sections” (2017) 

  2. PLOS One, “Maternal mortality in Mexico, beyond millennial development objectives: An age-period-cohort model” (2018)

 KEY QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION

How can equal access to healthcare and education be guaranteed to all Mexicans, especially those in rural and/or marginalized communities?

How can unnecessary interventions be reduced, and necessary ones provided in a more culturally competent manner? 

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