YAUTEPEC, Morelos - During the inauguration of a women´s hospital on Monday, President Felipe Calderón launched a new health program which aims to give lifelong coverage to children born during his administration.Accompanied by his wife, Margarita Zavala, Morelos Gov. Marco Adame Castillo and top health officials, Calderón handed over the first three ID cards for the plan to mothers of newborns who will receive treatment at the hospital. The goal is to have 743,000 babies enrolled by the end of the year.
"We want life (in Mexico) to begin with equal opportunities for all," Calderón said during a presentation following a tour of the hospital. "The health of children comes first."
He acknowledged that universal coverage for Mexico´s population will take time and resources, "but my government wants to start with the new generations. We are building the base for a more fair society."
Calderón, who serves until 2012, said that in cities such as the capital and Monterrey, 20 out of every 1,000 infants die due to a lack of medical care, while in some poor, rural areas, this number is as high as 100 deaths per 1,000 infants.
Under the new program, infants and children will be able to receive care at Mexico´s publicly run social security hospitals, known by their initials IMSS and ISSSTE. IMSS provides healthcare to private sector workers, and ISSSTE offers care to government workers.
However, children that don´t live near a public clinic or hospital will reportedly be able to receive care from private practitioners. It is being financed by a 9.3 percent increase for health programs approved in the 2007 budget.
Further details of how the program will work were unavailable late Monday. It was unclear whether the program will be complementary to the Seguro Popular ("Popular Insurance") launched by formerPresident Vicente Fox. Seguro Popular aims to give care to the estimated 50 million Mexicans who lack insurance.
