US, MEXICAN GOVERNMENTS APPROVE BORDER HEALTH COMMISSION

This week saw the creation of a joint US-Mexico team that will address health and medical issues on both sides of the border.  The United States-Mexico Border Health Commission is based in El Paso, Texas, and is designed to provide a forum for groups already involved in border heath issues, as well as to provide funding. 

One of the group’s first orders of business will be dealing with tuberculosis. TB rates in border areas are three times higher than they are in the rest of the US.  The Commission intends to issue binational health cards that will allow people with TB to obtain treatment on either side of the border.  Along with TB, other diseases, such as cancer, hepatitis and diabetes occur at higher raters along the border than they do in the interior of either country.

The Commission also helps to educate the public that border health issues cannot be restricted to that area, and that with migration to the interior of the countries, there is a risk of diseases spreading further.

The Commission is the result of a six-year effort, begun after legislation was passed calling for the creation of an organization to assess border issues and to develop responses to them.  Last summer the operation of the Commission was approved by US and Mexican officials.

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