UNITED STATES - MEXICO BORDER HEALTH COMMISSION

Back in 1994, United States section of the Border Health Commission was established, but it wasn’t an entirely comprehensive border commission without the other half of the border.

July 24, 2000, an agreement was made between the U.S. and Mexico that established the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission (BHC) and in 2004, President George W. Bush signed an Executive Order that designated the BHC as a public international organization.

The U.S. – Mexico border houses a population of roughly 12 million people and more than 800,000 people legally, and thousands illegally, cross the border daily, according to the BHC Web site.

Many border communities are impoverished, have limited healthcare resources as well as poor access to healthcare, according to the Web site.

Whether it is for travel or medical care, U.S. and Mexican citizens can’t check their health problems at the border and thus enter the neighboring country as a potential health risk.

High population growth and constant migration, put further strain on the healthcare system of both countries. This strain can be dangerous to the dissemination of care and resources in an area desperate in need of proper healthcare.

Some of the biggest health threats at the border are chronic diseases like, diabetes, and hypertension, according to the Web site. Border communities also struggle with respiratory and gastrointestinal disease and as well as communicable diseases like, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, also according to the Web site.

A map of the Border Health Comission state outreach offices along the U.S. - Mexico Border.
The BHC’s mission is to provide international leadership to optimize the health and quality of life for those living along the border.

“The Commission was established after many years of many leaders on the border advocating for the establishment of a border health authority […] that would provide the necessary leadership to serve in a coordinating capacity to develop and advocate for specific binational actions and secure binational resources that would improve the health and quality of life on the border,” said Cecilia Rosales who was appointed to the to the U.S. section of the commission in 2006 and is also an associate professor at the UA’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Until its creation, there was no method of addressing and improving the health of this region.

Through focusing on access to and promotion of healthcare as well as research and data collection at the border, the BHC facilitates identification of public health issues and encourages the collaboration of federal, state and local resources, according to the Web site.

In order to accomplish these goals the commission conducts public health need assessments along the border, provides support to public and nonprofit entities, aids in health promotion and disease prevention actives and has established a system of coordinated care.

The commission’s commitment to border communities is clearly illustrated through their extensive list of public health actions.

This includes; Healthy Border 2010, Border Binational Health Week, National Infant Immunization Week, Border Health Research, Pandemic/Avian Influenza Planning, Border Lead Issues, Border Tele-health, and the Border Health Information Platform.

Healthy Border 2010 is composed of aspects from Mexico’s National Health Indicators and the United States’ Healthy People 2010 programs. It establishes 10-year objectives for health promotion and disease prevention in the border region. This includes improving the quality of life, increasing the years of healthy life and eliminating health disparities.

Some of the focus areas of Healthy Border 2010 are; access to healthcare, cancer, diabetes, injury prevention and oral health.

National Infant Immunization Week is a collaboration between the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Pan American Health Organization, border agencies and community organizations. These groups work to coordinate activities along the border that promote immunizations and highlight the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases, according to the CDC Web site.

The United States section is led by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Mexico section is led by the Secretary of Health of Mexico. The commission is made-up of 26 members from the six Mexican and four U.S. border states.

The commission receives funding and support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Mexican Secretaria de Salud.

The need for healthcare and health services at the border is blatantly obvious and unreasonably high. Fortunately, the Border Health Commission assemble a group of individuals who are genuinely concerned about the welfare of individuals living at the border and who are dedicated to improving the lives of those individuals.

"Up until the Commission was established and operationalized, the region did not have a sustainable process for addressing and improving the health of border residents," Rosales said. "The establishment of a Commission […] was needed to effectively address cross-cultural health disparate issues impacting border communities."