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 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.
