Migrant Health Clinics
One of the major programmatic achievements resulting from our research is the establishment of migrant clinics in deportation stations along the Mexico-U.S. border. Based on findings from the Migrante study, showing high rates of HIV infection among deported Mexican migrants, the Mexico Section of the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission (UMBHC) spearheaded an initiative to provide deported migrants with prevention and primary care services at the point of deportation. With funding from Mexico's Center for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control (CENSIDA) and the Secretariat of Health, under the Comprehensive Health Program for Deported Migrant Health, and staffed by UMBHC personnel, three clinics have been established in the deportation sites of Tijuana, Mexicali, and Matamoros. Funding has also been secured for additional clinics currently underway in Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Juarez, and other border towns.
The clinics offer primary care, screening for diabetes, hypertension, overweight/obesity, and HIV, health education, prevention materials and referrals to other health and social services in the community. Interested migrants are enrolled in Seguro Popular, a free, public health insurance for low-income populations. The clinics provide psychological evaluation and crisis management, risk assessment for tuberculosis, HIV, and other illnesses, and transportation to migrant shelters.
One of the major programmatic achievements resulting from our research is the establishment of migrant clinics in deportation stations along the Mexico-U.S. border. Based on findings from the Migrante study, showing high rates of HIV infection among deported Mexican migrants, the Mexico Section of the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission (UMBHC) spearheaded an initiative to provide deported migrants with prevention and primary care services at the point of deportation. With funding from Mexico's Center for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control (CENSIDA) and the Secretariat of Health, under the Comprehensive Health Program for Deported Migrant Health, and staffed by UMBHC personnel, three clinics have been established in the deportation sites of Tijuana, Mexicali, and Matamoros. Funding has also been secured for additional clinics currently underway in Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Juarez, and other border towns.
The clinics offer primary care, screening for diabetes, hypertension, overweight/obesity, and HIV, health education, prevention materials and referrals to other health and social services in the community. Interested migrants are enrolled in Seguro Popular, a free, public health insurance for low-income populations. The clinics provide psychological evaluation and crisis management, risk assessment for tuberculosis, HIV, and other illnesses, and transportation to migrant shelters.