EAPSEC World Exchange - Mexican State Support
Mexican State Support for Community and Education
El Equipo de Apoyo en Salud y Educación Comunitaria (EAPSEC, The Team for the Support of Community Health and Education) was established in 1985 by a small group of Mexican health promoters. They initially worked with Guatemalan refugee communities in the Chiapas border region, later expanding their work to other marginalized people in Chiapas. EAPSEC believes that for everyone "a life of dignity" is a human right. This includes a strong public health system that responds to the most pressing health needs of the population, and individual access to high quality health care.
We have partnered with the PIH to improve medical infrastructure in the region and to recruit and train hundreds of health workers, known as promotores. As a "supported project" of PIH, EAPSEC shares many of the principles and practices of our model of community-based care. In particular, EAPSEC has focused on training and empowering promotores to educate their neighbors to attend to many of their basic primary healthcare needs, and to recognize when they require transfer to a more advanced clinical care. Over the past two decades the EAPSEC has partnered with dozens of indigenous and rural communities throughout Chiapas to develop local health capacity. In addition, EAPSEC is dedicated to helping communities build self-sufficiency and counts many successful community health groups throughout Chiapas among its "alumni".
We have also partnered with the ACT NOW FOR HEALTH. ACT NOW FOR HEALTH is a campaign to get ministers from governments around the world to commit that health must be a priority in 2008. Urgent action is needed. We are asking ministers to sign the following statement, calling for the world to Act Now for Health in 2008. We are asking civil society organisations too to show their support.