Mexico shows considerable delays in the

development of its health infrastructure

By Humberto Armenta

The contingency caused by the AH1N1 influenza virus that Mexicans lived last year,
exposed the deficiencies that our country has in the prevention and detection of infectious
diseases: lack of medical research, shortage of services, little inter-institutional
coordination and, above all, insufficient health infrastructure. This is a dangerous
situation, since it is not only about numbers but about individuals that cannot get medical
attention due to this.

In 2008, the OECD’s Health report stated that Mexico stands out as being the country with
the least resources assigned to public health, with 6.6% of its GDP, against 8.9% on an
average by other member countries, such as Turkey or Poland, which have middle – to
high incomes such as ours.

Despite an important increase in public resources dedicated to this sector, to reach

investment levels that will enable to attend the health needs of Mexicans, more resources
and innovative strategies are required. Mexico has gone from assigning 5.6% of its GDP
in year 2000 to 6.5% this year, but it remains below even the Latin American average
(6.9%) and way below the GDP levels dedicated to health in other middle-income
countries in Latin America such as Argentina (8.9%), Brazil (7.6%), Colombia (7.6%) and
Uruguay (9.8%).

As for installed capacity, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends one hospital
bed per one thousand people as a minimum. In Mexico, only 5 of the 32 states comply
with this recommendation, the rest has 0.8 beds per thousand people, which implies a
backlog of 25 years in the development of appropriate infrastructure, according to the
2008 annual report of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). The average of the
remaining OECD countries is of four beds per thousand inhabitants.

The states with less per capita health investment (2005) are:

During the period 2007-2009, average federal public spending in the health sector was
304.972 billion pesos per year, distributed as follows:
According to the National 2007-2012 Health Program, total annual investment in health
infrastructure is estimated that little over half (54% of total) is invested by private
companies, but the lack of financing and the current global crisis have prevented private
companies from developing these projects, and has aggravated the problem. In OECD
countries, public spending represents up to 72% of total, which is translated into a much
more developed infrastructure for all its citizens.

Today, and for the above reasons, it is imperative to increase public investment and to
improve its quality. The National 2007-2012 Health Program states a goal of 7% of GDP
for year 2010, which is insufficient to catch up with more developed countries, but
essential to, at least, reach the levels of Latin American countries and guarantee a service
capable of facing this health contingency which put extremely high pressure to the health
sectors throughout the country.

We cannot put the health of our families at risk, nor continue with this considerable and
historic backlog of our health infrastructure. It is vital for Mexico to have the essential
healthcare facilities to take care of its citizens.

Mexico
May 21, 2009