RON MADER'S UNUSUAL MEXICO LINKS
(Mexico on the Web)

His Bio
His Home Page

Journalist and savvy webmaster Ron Mader sifts through the web to find the most interesting and unusual Mexico-related websites. Ron is the webhost of the popular Planeta.com: Eco Travels in Latin America website -- http://www.planeta.com -- and has written about the internet since the early 1990s.

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MEXICO'S "MED - NET"
Internet's online prescription for health.

Although it's no joking matter to bring up "Montezuma's Revenge" while traveling in Latin America, more people than ever before are now talking about illness prevention and staying healthy. Luckily for interested readers, the Internet boasts a wealth of information on health, with topics ranging from government-sponsored programs to New Age retreats and spas-and it's all just a click away.

Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública

www.insp.mx/
/5 Stars

Mexico's National Public Health Institute is a virtual library of information in Spanish about research centers, academic programs and upcoming events. The material is quite dry but the site will be of great use to students and researchers. The site also has PDF files from the health magazine Salud Pública. Health professionals will want to bookmark this site.

Email contact: alex@insp.mx

Laneta - Salud

www.laneta.apc.org/home/ambitos/salud.htm
/5 Stars

Mexico's pioneering social-interest website has a rich archive of informative background features on health organizations, including the Centro de Desarrollo de la Medicina Maya (www.laneta.apc.org/omiech/) and a women's health network called Red por la Salud de las Mujeres (www.laneta.apc.org/proderechos). This is the site to visit if you're interested in alternative health treatments such as temezcal baths or medicinal plants. Some of the links are in English. The only downside of the site is that it is rarely updated.

Email contact: info@laneta.apc.org

Pan-American Health Organization

www.paho.org/
/5 Stars

The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) has almost a century of experience working "to improve health and living standards of the countries of the Americas." As part of the United Nations, it has one of that organization's most content-rich websites. It's also bilingual (English and Spanish). Mexico-related documents are easily found via the search function and on the country page.

Documents are generated from official sources, meaning they are fairly dry but also informative. Examples include the profiles of "Healthy Municipalities and Communities" which document the health status of 2,419 municipalities in Mexico.

For readers interested in understanding the scope of the PAHO, a visit to the Topics page (www.paho.org/Selection.asp?SEL=TP&LNG=ENG) is recommended.

Email contact: webmaster@paho.org

Excite Health

health.excite.com/
/5 Stars

This site covers general health topics from A-Z. While it's not Mexico-focused, it would be hard to find a more in-depth forum that provides breaking news (health.excite.com/news) and a comprehensive medical library (health.excite.com/library).

A 'Mexico' search produced no less than 318 matches, including the live chat transcript of "Podiatry and Compassion: The Baja Project with Carl Wagreich, M.D." and "When Crossing the Border for Prescriptions, It's Buyer Beware." Both are great reads. The only fault I find with the site is that it doesn't appear to have an editor or anyone specifically in charge. What it does offer is a series of online chats and message boards that encourage discussion (health.excite.com/chat_and_boards).

Other interesting sites:

Cancerstop

www.cancerstop.net/
- This informative site promotes the fight against cancer in Mexico and Latin America.

La Guía Médica

www.medica.com.mx/
- Mexico's online medical guide. Slow-loading, but worth bookmarking.

Los Médicos Voladores/Flying Doctors

www.flyingdocs.org/
- The Flying Doctors organization sends volunteer teams of medical professionals on four-day trips to northern Mexico each month.

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