In the face of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, a country like Mexico where 50.2% of its population of people with disabilities live in poverty, according to the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy, and have no opportunity to access medical services, it is vitally important that the State does what is necessary to meet the basic needs of said population.
In recent days, the General Health Council published the draft of a Bioethical Guide. This includes a series of criteria that medical personnel would have to take into account in the event that the health system in Mexico collapses due to the number of infections and insufficient medical supplies to attend to all.
The guide includes a section where it is stipulated that when providing medical care, you cannot discriminate for any reason, including the possibility that the person has a disability. However, Carlos Ríos Espinosa, researcher at Human Rights Watch, indicated that there is concern regarding the way in which this can be applied to reality, as no organization was consulted to consider everything necessary to guarantee care for these population.
Carlos Ríos explained that one of the main doubts regarding the Bioethics Guide is related to triage, an internationally recognized process that is being used in many countries, which establishes a critical care protocol.
Ríos pointed out that the triage situation is very worrying in Mexico, especially when the population of people with disabilities is among the most vulnerable, especially when a large part of this sector is in institutions at special risk. He emphasized the urgency for the Bioethics Guide to undergo a consultation process with organizations to meet the specific needs of that sector, especially so that it is well understood.
