Health Conference Stresses Cooperation

By Melissa McEver, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas

May 22–SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — Diseases like diabetes, tuberculosis and HIV don’t respect borders, said officials at the 65th annual meeting of the United States-Mexico Border Health Association, which kicked off Monday.

For that reason, both countries need to work together on initiatives to stop the spread of communicable diseases and educate residents on the dangers of unhealthy lifestyles, leaders said.

“Our goals we can achieve only by working together,” said Dr. Maki Ortiz Dominguez, subsecretary in the office of Mexico’s Secretary of Health.

Researchers and officials from both the United States and Mexico offered presentations on conditions commonly afflicting residents throughout the border — from the obesity epidemic to infant deaths — and discussed ways to improve access to health care and eliminate disparities.

Mexican leaders said the country is seeing more problems with lifestyle-related illnesses like diabetes, alcoholism and sexually transmitted diseases, and are also becoming more concerned with the impact of water pollution and pesticide use on residents’ health.

“In our national health program, we have a high content of activities to promote health, like physical activity, nutrition, limiting alcohol and safe-sex practices,” said Ortiz Dominguez. “We’re also trying to enforce rules on proper waste disposal (to protect water sources).”

The health concerns on the U.S. side of the border are nearly identical, said Dr. Brian Smith, regional director of Texas Department of State Health Services’ Region 11, which includes the Rio Grande Valley.

“Virtually all of our diseases require a binational effort to control them,” Smith said.

If the two countries don’t work together on issues like obesity and diabetes, the health care costs in both countries are likely to spin out of control, he said.

“We won’t be able to afford the cost of treating these chronic diseases,” Smith said.

Research projects presented at the meeting included a study of HIV-positive pregnant women in Tamaulipas, a report on health disparities in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder and a discussion of the health of Mexican migrant youth.

The conference concludes today.

—–

Copyright (c) 2007, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.