Women, Migration, And Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the Migration Process of Altar, Sonora: Agency in the Midst of Multiple Vulnerabilities (Report‪)‬

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and, in particular, transmission of HIV, have come to the forefront of public health agendas focused on the border and migration. This priority has been articulated in binational arenas, with one of the principal and longstanding activities being the red ribbon parades held annually on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border (Aviles and Jimenez Cruz n.d.), the Border 2010 objectives, and newer initiatives funded by USAID (http://ihccm.ucsd.edu/ties/index.html) and CONASIDA (www.salud.gob.mx/conasida). In Mexico, the first cases of HIV/AIDS were in men who had spent time working in the United States, and the second highest prevalence of the disease is reported in the border state of Baja California, with other border states experiencing rising prevalence as well. Albeit spotty, prevention efforts that specifically target border localities and migrant populations have long been in place, reflecting the rationale that the disease is being "brought" to Mexico via (internationally) "mobile populations." In Sonora in recent years, the secretary of health reports an important epidemiological change in what had been a relatively stable rate: Between 2000 and 2005, the number of new cases increased from 80 to 115, an increase of approximately 40 percent (Pacheco 2005). This coincides with the state's increasing prominence as a stopping point in the flow of undocumented migrants to the United States and particularly the rise of the Altar-El Sasabe corridor. Until very recently, however, Sonora has not been a focus of national prevention efforts.