Mexico: New Walk-in Clinic in Tijuana Joins Area's Fight Against AIDS

A new walk-in clinic in eastern Tijuana aims to fight AIDS in the Baja California city where as many as one of every 125 people ages 15-49 is believed to be HIV-positive.

Mexico's AIDS rate is about half that of the United States. Rates along the U.S. border have long been higher, however, and Baja California's rate is second only to Mexico City's. A recent study by U.S. and Mexican researchers suggested Tijuana could be on the verge of a major AIDS outbreak.

"The behavior of the epidemic in Tijuana is like a small window of what can happen in the rest of the country," said Dr. Remedios Lozado, director of the state health department's HIV/AIDS program in the city. Tijuana is home to 70 percent of the 5,000 AIDS cases registered in Baja California since 1983.

The new clinic, which opened in November, seeks to address a range of clients, including pregnant women, migrant workers, sex workers and intravenous drug users. In other progress against HIV/AIDS in Tijuana:

• The French government and the aid group Medecins du Monde are funding a three-year prevention and testing program targeting migrant workers.
• The U.S. Agency for International Development is funding a $324,810 effort to use a mobile unit to diagnose TB and HIV in hard-to-reach populations.
• Since October 2005, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the local group AFABI have operated a clinic providing free AIDS treatment for those not covered by government programs.

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