Vaccination, a right not guaranteed for indigenous girls and boys

In Mexico, vaccination is a fundamental right for all people. However, 1 in 5 indigenous children and adolescents between the ages of 3 and 17 are not affiliated with health services. A particularly complicated situation in Mexico City, Zacatecas and Nuevo León, places where the figures rise to 49%, 45.1% and 41.4%, respectively 1.

Not having access to health protection services increases the gaps to achieve development and magnifies the vulnerability of this population. In addition, it limits their ability to access vaccination, one of the most cost-effective interventions to prevent diseases, sequelae, and deaths.

The worrying current scenario

Vaccine-preventable diseases continue to be the main causes of death among girls and boys between 0 and 5 years of age 2, That is why it is very important to guarantee that they have timely access to quality health protection.

However, indigenous girls and boys have an even more complex picture. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey indicated that in 2018 only 18.5% of 1-year-old girls and boys had complete vaccination coverage 3; however, the indigenous population had a coverage of up to 30 percentage points below the non-indigenous population in vaccines such as BCG, Hepatitis B, HPV, Measles and Rubella and Tetanus 4. In addition to the fact that only 48.8% of indigenous children had their National Health Card 5, which represents a problem to maintain an adequate record and follow-up of immunization actions.

To this deplorable situation we must add the consequences on vaccination due to the COVID-19 pandemic, since the World Health Organization recently issued a warning about a decrease in the already very low coverage due to the interruption in the provision and use of vaccination services. immunization 6 that affected, above all, the most unprotected households 7 and that caused the coverage of the BCG vaccine in our country —which had historically been found at exemplary levels— to fall to 28% 8.

This series of conditions distances us from meeting the goal of the Universal Vaccination Program and the international recommendations that indicate an ideal coverage of 90% to 95%. 9.

Ensuring the highest level of health

There is a legal framework that supports that indigenous girls and boys in our country have the right to the highest level of health, health protection and preventive actions as important as vaccination; thus we can identify it in article 4 of the Mexican Constitution, the General Health Law, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 10, and in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The latter are international treaties, of which Mexico is a signatory and, therefore, commits it to comply with the agreements.

In this sense, it is necessary to improve health protection and vaccination actions that increase coverage in the vulnerable population, particularly the indigenous population, that favor the development and health prognosis of thousands of girls and boys.

It is crucial that key activities be strengthened, such as the dissemination of information in indigenous languages, the distribution of resources that guarantee access to immunizations in areas of difficult access, and the registration and monitoring of the application of biologicals that allows focusing and making visible the problems that they are afflicted, since currently the information available in the General Directorate of Health Information does not facilitate the identification of the health status of this population or their real problems and needs; likewise, the vaccine application records are not disaggregated by indigenous population either. 11.

Let us continue to demand compliance with your right to health protection

Recovering and achieving levels of protection among indigenous girls and boys is a shared responsibility, in which the State, the National Health System and social and private actors must actively participate, establishing continuous and permanent commitments.

This work, of course, must have a rights approach with an intercultural perspective, respecting the traditions of indigenous peoples and facilitating access to understandable information that allows them to demand compliance with their right to health protection.

* Save the Children (@SaveChildrenMx) is the leading independent organization in the promotion and defense of the rights of children and adolescents. It works in more than 120 countries, serving emergency situations and development programs. Support boys and girls to have a healthy and safe childhood. In Mexico, it has been working since 1973 with health and nutrition, education, protection and defense programs for the rights of children and adolescents, within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Visit our page and our social networks: Facebook: @SavetheChildrenMexico, Twitter: @SaveChildrenMxInstagram: @savethechildren_mx.

1 INEGI. (2020). Population from 3 to 17 years old who speaks indigenous and with affiliation to health services by federal entity. Available here.

2 INEGI. (2020). Characteristics of deaths registered in Mexico during 2019. Available here.

3 INSP.(2020). National Survey of Health and Nutrition (ENSANUT) 2018-19.

4 Pelcastre-Villafuerte BE, Meneses-Navarro S, Sánchez-Domínguez M, Meléndez-Navarro D, Freyermuth-Enciso G. Health conditions and use of services in indigenous peoples of Mexico. Public Health Mex. 2020;62:810-819. Available here.

5 INSP. (2020). Health conditions and use of services in indigenous peoples of Mexico. Available here.

6 WHO. (2022). The WHO and UNICEF warn of a decrease in vaccinations during COVID-19. Available here.

7 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Universidad Iberoamericana. (2020). Results of the #ENCOVIDInfancia. Available here.

8 UNICEF/OMS (2021). New 2020 childhood immunization coverage estimates. Disponible here.

9 SSA. (2020). General Guidelines of the Universal Vaccination Program and Public Health Conference 2020. Available here.

10 United Nations Organization (2007). United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Available here.

11 CENSIA through the Transparency Unit. Response to information request number 330026922009023.