ar2018-mexico-hero

Mexico

Photo by Jeffrey Brown

Children in Mexico today are the first generation that is projected to have a shorter life expectancy than its parents. In the crowded colonias of Tijuana, children face significant health risks from poor air quality, insufficient sanitation and a lack of healthy food. In fact, rates of obesity are rising dramatically in Mexico due to poor nutrition, and diabetes is the leading cause of death. For over 30 years, PCI's Healthy Children, Healthy Families Legacy Program has been providing preventative health care and education to thousands of vulnerable families in Tijuana. Thanks to a committed cadre of volunteer Community Health Workers, last year the program's community-based health clinics provided 2,217 immunizations to children under age five, together with growth monitoring, health education, evaluation and referrals.

"Promotoras [Community Health Workers] are not made, they are born. The only thing they need is to be given the opportunity to be useful in the community."
- Don Felipe Chonpo Martinez, PCI Community Health Worker