Mexico: Medical services suspended in parts of Chihuahua Nov. 11 /update 1

Event

As of Saturday, November 11, medical services are suspended in at least five municipalities in Chihuahua state following the abduction of a doctor by a suspected armed drug trafficking group in Gómez Farías on Wednesday, November 8. In addition to kidnapping the doctor, the armed group kidnapped two other people and set several houses and vehicles ablaze, according to media reports. Public health services have been reportedly shut down in five municipalities in the northwest region of the state - Ignacio Zaragoza, Gómez Farías, Madera, Namiquipa, and Buenaventura - and around a dozen medical students have fled the area due to the fear of further violence against medical professionals. Of the thousands of residents in the affected municipalities, only those in urgent need of medical attention will be transferred to still-operational hospitals in nearby cities (e.g. Cuauhtémoc and Nuevo Casas Grandes), according to the Mexican Ministry of Health.

Medical students also reportedly organized protests on university campuses and streets in Ciudad Juarez and the city of Chihuahua on Friday to resist what they say are unsafe work assignments in areas affected by the current violence. Additional medical student protests are possible and continued medical service disruptions are expected in the coming days.

Context

There has been a reported increase in the number of kidnappings and homicides in Chihuahua state in recent years. This violence is poised to continue as long as the structural causes of insecurity - such as institutional weakness, corrupt and deficient security forces, poor public services, and a political establishment susceptible to bribes - are not effectively addressed.

Advice

All those present in the region are advised to anticipate potential disruptions in the availability of health care services as well as increased wait times at still-operational clinics. Due to extreme levels of violence linked to the presence of various armed groups, some Western governments advise against nonessential travel to parts of Chihuahua state, along with a large portion of Mexican territory, including parts of Coahuila, Guerrero, Jalisco, Colima, Sinaloa, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Estado de Mexico, Sonora, and Tamaulipas states and the northeastern border with the US.