Thread: Binational panel IDs critical border health issues

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_15571490

Binational panel IDs critical border health issues
By Chris Roberts \ El Paso Times
Posted: 07/22/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT

EL PASO -- Cultural and language barriers, standards of professional conduct, and border violence present major challenges for health-care providers focused on the region's unique problems.

The U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission is tackling the vast array of health issues, which include obesity, diabetes and tuberculosis. The commission concluded its three-day 10th annual meeting on Wednesday.

"The public-health issues faced on the border are among the most difficult health issues faced by either nation," U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said in a Tuesday video message to commission members.

Indeed the problems are so numerous, complicated by a population that flows back and forth across the border, commission members have spent years finding projects that have the greatest impact.

Nonetheless, on the final day of the meeting, more issues arose.

Environmental health, which includes the effects of pollution, anti-immigrant sentiment that drives people away from hospitals and an increasing number of car-wreck injuries, all need to be addressed, said Dr. José Manuel de la Rosa, commission co-chair and founding dean of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine.

But there are limits.

"We certainly cannot address all of the issues," he said during Wednesday's meeting. "We need to maintain focus."

Other groups have more resources and there is no need to duplicate efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency, for example,which is examining issues of environmental health, de la Rosa and others said.

When it comes to often divisive politics, it is particularly important to maintain a focused resolve, de la Rosa said.

"How do we address those issues as true scientists, not politicians?" he said.

David Warner, a member of the commission's U.S. expert panel, suggested channeling money into medical schools on both sides of the border with the requirement that binational research teams create projects to deliver actual services. The approach could avoid some of the U.S. objections to spending money on border health projects that might benefit undocumented immigrants.

"It would be reducing an awful lot of future harm if you try to design some significant interventions," Warner said.

Even getting a clear picture of the health issues can be difficult. Up-to-date statistics for states and counties in Mexico are not generally available, said Gudelia Rangel Gómez, coordinator of Mexico's Baja California outreach office.

"We had to do our own calculations so we could get the six states on the border because the information was at the federal level," Rangel said.

On Tuesday, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius presided over the commission meeting and congratulated its members on a productive binational effort.

"The goals that have been set for this commission won't be easy to achieve," Sebelius said. "We've got a lot of hard work ahead of us and a lot of opportunities to work together."

Environmental health, which includes the effects of pollution, anti-immigrant sentiment that drives people away from hospitals and an increasing number of car-wreck injuries, all need to be addressed, said Dr. José Manuel de la Rosa,

Secure the border and stop the flood of illegal immigrants overwhelming our hospitals and legal system, then this problem will be reduced ,Sebelius, and with time grow much easier to address..... then you can focus more of your time on the American citizens who rightly should have your focus as they are the ones paying you!

There are many aspects to living on the border of Mexico that people that live elsewhere in the US don't know about. It seems absurd that El Paso and other US cities on the border must comply with laws such as environmental when we have zero control over what comes across from Mexico into our air space.
Mexico does not even come close to having the same kinds of environmental laws. In Juarez for instance, the people burn wood whenever they want to, yet El Paso has a city ordinance that dictates that one can only burn wood on certain days depending on the weather conditions and the level of pollution that is in the air. In Juarez they burn tires all the time which produces that thick nasty black putrid smelling smoke that drifts right on over to our side.
Mexico also does not have the same kind of controls over their city and or illegal dumping areas and all kinds of nasty things are burned in them to include chemicals and hospital waste. There are a whole lot of illegals/legals who cross over who aren't vaccinated against communicable diseases.
The state of Texas has laws that apply to our vehicles but their cars can be in whatever condition spewing out whatever. Their cars don't have to have an annual inspection and can be in whatever kind of condition. There are however standards for semi trucks that enter into the US from Mexico.
They almost never have car insurance and if we are involved in an accident with one of them, too bad for us.

We don't want to forget about swine flu, dengue fever and TB, which are crossing the border with illegals.

I just read this morning that dengue fever is out of control in Mexico and heading to the US.

Elpasoborn, don't forget the noxious waste that runs through their "rivers." When SoCal gets rain the "Tijuana river" empties its filth into the ocean, usually resulting in closing of many south San Diego beaches because of the bacteria in the water.

Sorry, I forgot food borne illness from their produce.

You're right....I did forget about the "river poisons". The Rio Grande here is pretty disgusting as opposed to higher up going towards Colorado where the water is blue/clear. Here's it's filthy brown. Juarez people who live close to the river where there are no canals tend to dump garbage into the river on their side which is deeper than places on our side. Garbage consists of not just trash but tires and junk vehicles. The border of Brownsville and Mexico had, maybe still have, a lot of babies born over the years on both side of the river afflicted with Anencephaly, AKA no brain because of something in the river.