SAN DIEGO (border report) – The American Tuberculosis Coalition has warned that the Mexican government is making it difficult to treat immigrants and others with tuberculosis, diabetes, breast cancer and even leprosy.
According to the report, Mexico is in the process of removing 35 health regulations that make it difficult for people to get medical care and support when they are sick, while preventing medical professionals from providing care.
“We have a big, big problem with tuberculosis, and we’re very concerned because it kills people,” said Alberto Colorado, executive director of the American Tuberculosis Federation.
For example, the regulation requires governments to provide certain services to sick people. Colorado says the deregulation will make it easier for government health agencies to deny or reduce care for many people.
Colorado says this will make it particularly difficult for many immigrants diagnosed with tuberculosis and other illnesses to get treatment after returning to Mexico.
“Medical services are not reaching immigrants. For example, indigenous communities, people on the streets, people using drugs.”
Colorado said the lack of care would endanger not only immigrants and tuberculosis patients, but everyone living along its border.
“Unfortunately, the border state of Baja California has one of the highest rates of tuberculosis,” Colorado said. “This can be a problem along borders when people are crossing borders and there are many people who do not have access to treatment. Tuberculosis has no borders.”
Border Reports has reached out to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which works with the Mexican government to address health issues along the border, for comment on our story, but officials have not yet responded to our inquiries.
