Project

The Struggle for Health in Chiapas

Samuel Loewenberg reports from two of Mexico's poorest states, Chiapas and Oaxaca, on the social and political forces that impact the health crises affecting the poor and indigenous communities here. Chiapas and Oaxaca have the worst records in the country for maternal mortality, deaths by cervical cancer, and diarrheal illness among children. The rate of infant death for Chiapas is three times that of the national average, and nearly twice as many new mothers die in Oaxaca as in wealthier parts of the country. Tuberculosis has also emerged as a major problem, made even worse by misplaced treatment priorities and the siphoning off of funds by the government for other projects, according to health groups.

This project assesses the political, economic, and social aspects behind these health crises, and looks at innovative, community based efforts to improve the situation.

Maricela Zurita Cruz: Voice for Mexican Indigenous Women's Health

Growing up in the mountain village of San Juan Quiahije, in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, Maricela Zurita Cruz saw from an early age the special health burdens that affect women there. The women face many obstacles: they are Indigenous, and so confront special problems of language and racism; they have little education and must deal with strong macho attitudes in their own communities; and they are poor people who face difficulty accessing the state's already stretched health-care system.

The Dangers of Childbirth in Southern Mexico

Among dozens of other brightly dressed women, Eugenia Urbina has been waiting on the stairs of the main hospital in this central Chiapas town for nearly two hours. Nine months pregnant with her third child, the 24-year-old seeks prenatal care. The long wait makes her worry that when the time comes to give birth, the hospital will not have room for her.

"It happens a lot," Urbina said, and if it does, she'll have to pay more than she can afford to drive around in a taxi for up to an hour to find a clinic that can take her.