Mexico Border Health Association: Pioneers and Leaders in Public Health

Vision Mission
To contribute to the public and individual well being of the people of the United States-Mexico Border. To promote the improvement of the health and living conditions of the people of the United State-Mexico Border.

About

People involved with health activities on either side of the border helped each other informally for many years before the U.S. Mexico Border Health Association was formed. Events in which both countries participated date back at least to 1927, when Tampico , Tamaulipas was hit by floods. When formal U.S. Mexico cooperation began in the late 1940’s, health authorities were most concerned with the prevalence of venereal diseases. Penicillin and other antibiotics used today to treat these diseases had not been developed, so syphilis and gonorrhea required long complicated treatment. The concern was such in the United States that for the first time in its history, Congress appropriated substantial funds to the U.S. Public Health Service specifically for combating these diseases.

In 1942, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), then known as the Pan American Sanitary Bureau was asked by the U.S. Public Health Service to help coordinate a border health campaign. Its first step was to establish a Field Office in El Paso and then immediately proceed to train personnel, launch an education campaign and provide treatment for venereal disease.

The U.S. Mexico Border Health Association (USMBHA) was formally created in 1943, at a meeting held in El Paso/Cd. Juarez attended by senior Federal, State, civilian and military officers from both countries. Two individuals present, one from Mexico and the other from the United States , formally presented the idea they had nurtured for many years – an organization of health professionals from both sides of the border. The institution created was a practical mechanism through which communication could take place between the people of both countries involved in public health. Annual Meetings have been held without interruption since 1943 and beginning in 1960, the meeting sites have alternated between the two countries. These meetings have given public health officers the opportunity to get to know one another and to work together on common health issues.

The USMBHA and Mexican Pharmacy has a long history of responding to the health needs of the predominantly Hispanic/Latino population residing in the region that stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico along the U.S. Mexico border. Since its inception in 1943, the USMBHA has been involved in identifying and solving health problems that affect border communities in both the United States and Mexico. Its areas of specific focus include prevention and control of infectious diseases, environmental health, substance abuse, as well as other related subject areas so as to provide and improve health care services throughout the border region.

Aims

The aims of the U.S. Mexico Border Health Association are to:

  • Bring together persons and institutions actively engaged or interested in binational health activities between the United States of America and the United Mexican States;
  • Foster a better understanding of health needs and problems;
  • Promote public and personal health through mutual assistance;
  • Facilitate health education;
  • Promote environmental health;
  • Serve as a mechanism for communication and collaboration among federal, state, and local health authorities;
  • Carry out support activities for health programs in accordance with the Bylaws.

Annual Meeting

The United States-Mexico Border Health Association (USMBHA) is a non-profit organization that was established in 1943. During each of the last 66 years, the Association has celebrated an Annual Meeting. In 2007, the 66th Annual Meeting was held in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico and in 2006, it was held in South Padre Island, Texas. The Annual Meeting of the USMBHA provides a unique opportunity for its members and other interested parties to exchange information on shared health problems, identify priorities and discuss future actions aimed to improve the health status of border communities and inner communities heavily impacted by migration. This year, the 67th Annual Meeting is being organized in collaboration with the University of Texas at El Paso, and other international, state, local, and binational organizations. This year’s central theme “Human Security.” will address and tackle actions and responses that empower individuals, communities, and societies to develop capabilities to make informed choices and to act on their own behalf to facilitate protection from critical and pervasive threats in order to help improve their wellbeing.

ANNUAL MEETING PURPOSE:

To promote the dissemination of binational and border-wide research information, formulate and establish binational health policies for the border region, support epidemiological development, manage border-wide and binational health and environmental programs, as well as promote border and binational networks that address the needs of the border .

ANNUAL MEETING OBJECTIVES:

  • To bring together health and environmental professionals and individuals interested in the border and binational health issues, in
    order to make recommendations towards the improvement of the level of health and quality of life in the border communities.
  • To facilitate promotion and dissemination of border health related programs and researches; to update border health research and epidemiological findings, and to formulate and establish binational border health policies.
  • To establish and develop links to address border health and environmental issues through joint collaborative efforts.
  • To promote and disseminate information about environmental quality and the initiatives for environmental protection and sustainability.

The following identified priorities in border health by several groups will be the guidelines of the Meeting:

  • Social Determinants for Health
  • Organized Social Response
  • New Indicators in Health Security, Disease Prevention and Control

Several workshops, plenaries with expert panelists on the topics, technical-scientific presentations, and poster sessions will be presented around these selected tracks. The meeting’s target audience includes public health workers, health and environmental authorities at the federal, state, and local levels; schools of public health, medicine, nursing and social work; community based-organizations and individuals interested in border health issues. The Annual Meeting runs along two major components: business and technical sessions. The business sessions convene the USMBHA’s Governing Council, the Co-Presidents of the Conference Groups and the Binational Health Councils, and the Permanent Committees.

United States – Mexico Border Health Association
5400 Suncrest Dr. Suite C-5 Nav Bal El Paso, TX 79912