Role of the employment status and education of mothers in the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in Mexican rural schoolchildren

<p><b>Background:</b> Intestinal parasitic infections are a public health problem in developing countries such as Mexico. As a result, two governmental programmes have been implemented: a) "National Deworming Campaign" and b) "Opportunities" aimed at maternal care. However, both programmes are developed separately and their impact is still unknown. We independently investigated whether a variety of socio-economic factors, including maternal education and employment levels, were associated with intestinal parasite infection in rural school children.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> This cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 rural communities in two Mexican states. The study sites and populations were selected on the basis of the following traits: a) presence of activities by the national administration of albendazole, b) high rates of intestinal parasitism, c) little access to medical examination, and d) a population having less than 2,500 inhabitants. A total of 507 schoolchildren (mean age 8.2 years) were recruited and 1,521 stool samples collected (3 per child). Socio-economic information was obtained by an oral questionnaire. Regression modelling was used to determine the association of socio-economic indicators and intestinal parasitism.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> More than half of the schoolchildren showed poliparasitism (52%) and protozoan infections (65%). The prevalence of helminth infections was higher in children from Oaxaca (53%) than in those from Sinaloa (33%) (p < 0.0001). Giardia duodenalis and Hymenolepis nana showed a high prevalence in both states. Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and Entamoeba hystolitica/dispar showed low prevalence. Children from lower-income families and with unemployed and less educated mothers showed higher risk of intestinal parasitism (odds ratio (OR) 6.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6–22.6; OR 4.5, 95% CI 2.5–8.2; OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.5–7.4 respectively). Defecation in open areas was also a high risk factor for infection (OR 2.4, 95% CI 2.0–3.0).</p> <p><b>Conclusion:</b> Intestinal parasitism remains an important public health problem in Sinaloa (north-western Mexico) and Oaxaca (south-eastern Mexico). Lower income, defecation in open areas, employment status and a lower education level of mothers were the significant factors related to these infections. We conclude that mothers should be involved in health initiatives to control intestinal parasitism in Mexico.</p&gt

The impact of Oportunidades on human capital and income distribution in Mexico: A top-down/bottom-up approach

This paper sets a computable general equilibrium model for the Mexican economy and a behavioural microsimulation model for Mexico's Oportunidades social transfers, and links the models in a bi-directional and iterative way. The model results suggest that partial equilibrium analysis may underestimate the effects of the program. Extending the coverage of the program leads to a significant increase in school attendance, which lowers labour supply and increases the equilibrium wages of the children who remain at work. The general equilibrium effect indirectly reduces income inequality and poverty at the national level

Land conflict in peri-urban areas: Exploring the effects of land reform on informal settlement in Mexico

Peri-urban areas are often subject to intensive construction, through both formal and informal processes. As land transitions from rural to urban status, different land tenure and administration systems may come into conflict, leading to disputes, contestation and, in some cases, violence. However, little is known about the precise causes of peri-urban land conflict. In Mexico, peri-urban growth has historically proceeded peacefully, owing to the control exerted by a corporatist system of government, and the political use of land tenure regularisation. However, the effects of land reforms on transactions at the peri-urban fringe, in the context of wider processes of liberalisation, may be increasing vulnerability to conflict over land. This paper explores these issues through a case study of an irregular settlement on the peri-urban fringe of the provincial Mexican city of Xalapa, where contestations over informally developed land have escalated into violent encounters between groups of settlers and the state. The findings show that vulnerability to conflict in peri-urban areas can be attributed to the interaction of macro-level processes with local-level factors, including diverse claims, overlapping legal and governance frameworks and, critically, local power relations

Two Cheers for CCTs

Conditional cash transfers such as PROGRESA/Oportunidades are being widely adopted in developing countries as an effective means of combating poverty and promoting human development. These programmes provide a cash subsidy to the mothers of school-age children conditional on their fulfilling certain requirements. This article argues that in reinforcing a maternal model of care, they not only deepen gender divisions but also establish a trade-off between children's and women's needs for long-term security. In assuming that women are exclusively responsible for fulfilling the requirements of the programme and are available to carry out the duties prescribed, they ignore women's economic vulnerability and can even contribute to it if women's involvement in, and need for, income-generating work is undermined, Programme design could be improved by encouraging a more dynamic model of gender and generational cooperation which has the potential to generate more positive outcomes for all household members, including fathers who are otherwise marginalised from the responsibilities of care. © Institute of Development Studies

Ecosystems-based adaptation: Are we being conned? Evidence from Mexico

This paper scrutinises claims made about the promise and efficacy of ecosystems-based adaptation (EBA), through an exploration of EBA-relevant interventions in two fieldsites in Mexico. Our data starts to fill important gaps in current global debates about EBA. We find evidence of the important contribution of interventions relevant to EBA objectives at a small scale and under very specific conditions. However, the viability of similar interventions is substantially reduced, and arguably rendered null, as an incentive for conservation in a more populous fieldsites. Furthermore, evidence suggests that other adaptation options risked being overlooked if the context were viewed solely through the lens of EBA. We conclude that EBA needs to: a) engage with and address the trade-offs which characterised earlier attempts to integrate conservation and development, and; b) acknowledge the implications for its objectives of a globally predominant, neoliberal political economy

El programa de desarrollo humano del Gobierno de México: Modelo de evaluación, seguimiento y monitoreo

Esta presentación fue realizada en la Red de Reducción de la Pobreza y la Protección Social del Diálogo Regional de Política para la Reunión Subregional de Centro América celebrada los días 19 y 20 de Julio de 2004 en México, D.F. Esta presentación discute el programa Oportunidades, el principal programa social del Gobierno de México. También incluye los resultados obtenidos en nutrición

El programa de desarrollo humano del Gobierno de México: Modelo de evaluación, seguimiento y monitoreo

Esta presentación fue realizada en la Red de Reducción de la Pobreza y la Protección Social del Diálogo Regional de Política para la Reunión Subregional de Centro América celebrada los días 19 y 20 de Julio de 2004 en México, D.F. Esta presentación discute el programa Oportunidades, el principal programa social del Gobierno de México. También incluye los resultados obtenidos en nutrición.Desarrollo social, Educación, Salud, Monitoreo y Evaluación de Programas de Protección Social Monitoring and Evaluating Social Protection Programs