By Catie Duckworth Council on Hemispheric Affairs Affecting 0.3
percent of the population, HIV is only half as prevalent in
Mexico as it is in the United States. However, experts have
noted an increase in cases in Mexico following the
implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in
1994. Researchers have linked HIV/AIDS in Mexico to migration
since these rates only recently started to rise. In the 1980s
and early 1990s, studies showed that between 41 and 79 percent
of Mexicans with AIDS had spent time living in the United
States. Unfortunately, these statistics have not been updated
since 1992, highlighting a lack of attention to this serious
issue. Increased migration from Mexico to the United States has
corresponded with a 7.8 percent annual increase in HIV diagnoses
along the U.S.-Mexico border. At this rate, in the next 15 to 20
years the number of AIDS cases may overwhelm Mexico’s limited
capacity to address them. Both Mexico and the United States,
therefore, have a joint responsibility to i