PRB Discuss Online: Growing Up in North America: How Are Children Faring Economically?
Globalization helped increase incomes in Canada, the United States, and Mexico for more than 10 years, but left many children vulnerable economically. While they differ substantially on many economic indicators, the 120 million children living in North America face surprisingly similar problems, including comparatively high rates of child poverty, particularly among indigenous communities and racial or ethnic minorities, and increasing income inequality. Katherine Scott, vice president of research, Canadian Council on Social Development; Mark Mather, associate vice president of Domestic Programs, Population Reference Bureau; and Nashieli Ramirez Hernandez, president of Consejo Directivo/Children’s Rights Network in Mexico answered participants' questions on this topic. Read a transcript of the questions and answers. (October 2008)

New Report Reveals Growing Inequality and Economic Hardships for Children in North America
Globalization has contributed to rising incomes in Canada, the United States, and Mexico but has not improved economic security for vulnerable children across the three countries, according to a new report, Growing Up in North America: The Economic Well-Being of Children in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. (October 2008)

Driving Up Demand for Health Services in Latin America
Millions of people live in poverty in Latin America, and many young people often face few prospects for a bright future. To combat the cycle of poverty, over the past decade governments throughout Latin America have adopted a new approach—conditional cash transfers (CCTs). This strategy offers poor households cash in return for fulfilling specific requirements related to health, education, and nutrition. (January 2008)

Immigration and America's Black Population

 Although far outnumbered by nonblack Hispanic and Asian immigrants, the number of black immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean more than tripled between 1980 and 2005. This Population Bulletin looks at black immigrants to the United States—what countries they are coming from, which states and metro areas they are living in, and what factors affected their entry into the United States. (BUL62.4; December 2007)

Fighting Air Pollution in Mexico City and São Paulo
Mexico City has some of the worst air pollution in the world. The city’s residents lose 2.5 million working days a year to health problems caused by particle matter, such as soot. Other Latin American capitals such as São Paulo, Brazil, also rank among the world's worst in terms of outdoor air pollution. Because increases in respiratory and cardiovascular illness and death have been linked to major air pollution, cities are taking steps to clear the air. But these megacities have reduced air pollution levels with new policies and relatively simple technological fixes. (July 2007)

Growing Up in North America: Child Health and Safety in Canada, the United States, and Mexico
The Children in North America Project aims to highlight the conditions and well-being of children and youth in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The report Growing Up in North America: Child Health and Safety in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, documents the health challenges these children face. The project is a collaboration of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Canadian Council on Social Development, the Children's Rights Network in Mexico, and the Population Reference Bureau. (May 2007)

Report Finds Serious Disparities Among Children in North America
A new report from the Children in North America project finds that, while the continent's children have grown healthier and better educated over the last several decades, Mexico lags both Canada and the United States in providing education and health care to its children. (May 2006)

PRB-UNFPA Country Profiles for Population and Reproductive Health 2005
PRB and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have jointly published the Country Profiles for Population and Reproductive Health: Policy Developments and Indicators 2005. The volume, which updates the 2003 edition, contains national and subnational indicators on the demographic and social situation in 163 countries and subregions. (March 2006)

Mexican Migrant Communities May Be on Verge of HIV/AIDS Epidemic
Both migrants in the United States as well as those returning to Mexico show higher levels of infection than the general Mexican population. (September 2005)

Diaries from the Field: Keijzer in Mexico
Benno de Keijzer, a physician and founder of the Mexico-based Salud y Género, explores how reproductive health work must address issues related to gender—the economic, social, political, and cultural attributes and opportunities associated with being male or female. (April 2005)

Gender, Health, and Development in the Americas 2003

 This data sheet profiles gender differences in health and development in 48 countries in the Americas. (December 2003)

Three Case Studies: Involving Men to Address Gender Inequities (PDF: 743KB)

 Profiles of three innovative programs (Salud y Género, Society for the Integrated Development of the Himalayas (SIDH), and Stepping Stones) that have involved men and youth in efforts to improve reproductive health outcomes for both men and women (July 2003).

Mexican Immigration to the United States
Data from the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey indicate that about 8.8 million people living in the United States in 2000 were born in Mexico. This represents just under 30 percent of the total U.S. foreign-born population. (AmeriStat, May 2002)

USAID/Mexico Population, Family Planning, and Reproductive Health Program, 1992-1999 (PDF: 420KB)
This booklet summarizes the last phase of USAID assistance to Mexico, from 1992 to 1999. The report gives program managers, policymakers, and donors information about USAID’s program in Mexico, including lessons learned and challenges remaining. (February 2002)

Pesticides: A Threat to Central America's Children and the Region's Future
Pesticides pose a health threat to people of all ages, but children face the greatest danger of all. And while children all over the world are menaced by these chemicals, nowhere is the threat more serious than in Central America. (September 2001)