Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

From what I’ve heard, Mexico had beforehand created a plan for the H1N1 outbreak and then followed it when the outbreak occurred. With this, they followed the most important rule in prevention of the spread of infectious diseases: minimize contact between infected and uninfected people. The government achieved this through quarantines, isolations and closures or discouragements of people traveling to crowded places, such as schools. In my opinion, the government’s response was effective since there was minimal lag time between the start of the outbreak and the government’s decision to initiate their response plan. In addition, they sought help from other countries and the WHO. As a result, they were able to limit the spread of the H1N1 virus throughout the country and only had to close the schools for less than two weeks. Most importantly, the government decided to attack the problem instead of debating it or even hiding it. In essence, they were effective since they put the people instead of the politics first.
This response reflects positively on their health care system since it shows their level of preparation and lack of administrative barriers. Mexico has always been considered to have an inadequate health care system because of the limited amount of money they spend (6.6% of GDP) and their lack of technology. Their response shows their problem isn’t lack of skill, planning or execution but simply lack of expenditure. Mexico has the potential to develop a great healthcare system since the groundwork has been laid with the proper tools and infrastructure and once the money becomes available, they will develop a better system than their neighbor, the United States has in every aspect.