COBBH Accomplishments

In fulfillment of its goals, COBBH’s recent accomplishments and ongoing projects include the following:

• Produced four annual reports on the health status of populations residing in the California-Baja California border region.
• Collaborated with the Health Initiative of the Americas (HIA) in developing three editions of the Spanish/English Dictionary of Health-related Terms (PDF, 2.8MB, New Window) to assist health providers in communicating with Spanish-speaking patients.
• Established the California-Mexico Public Health Collaborative in coordination with Mexico’s Migrant Health Program in the Ministry of Health, to jointly address priority health issues of mutual concern, particularly those impacting Mexican migrant populations in California.  Under the Collaborative: (1) convened the meeting, Social Marketing for Health Promotion in California and Baja California, on May 3, 2007 in San Diego; and (2) currently implementing the California-Mexico Cervical Cancer Outreach Project.
• Ongoing collaboration with California and Mexico academic institutions to implement educational, training, and health assessment projects focusing on migrant populations. Participate in the annual Summer Institute on Migration and Health in Puebla, Mexico. 
• Prepared the report “The California Farm Labor Force Overview and Trends from the National Agricultural Workers Survey,” (PDF, New Window) in collaboration with Aguirre International, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Region 9, HIA, and California Programs for Access to Care (CPAC).
• Established and Co-Chair, with ISESALUD, the California-Baja California Environmental Health Task Force under the U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 Program.
• Created the U.S.-Mexico Lead Initiative, in collaboration with the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission (USMBHC) and federal and state partners, to cooperate in reducing exposure to lead in candy, traditional pottery, and home remedies in the U.S. and Mexico. Currently implementing the U.S. Border Lead Outreach Project to prevent exposure to lead in traditional pottery.
• Conducting a pilot study, funded by the PIMSA (Programa de Investigación en Migración y Salud) Program, in collaboration with the School of Medicine, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, on the use of social marketing for health education among migrant populations in California and Mexico.
• Ongoing collaboration with the Secretariat of Health of Baja California and multiple federal, state, and local partners to enhance pesticide illness prevention, awareness, and reporting in Imperial County and Baja California. Developed bilingual (English and Spanish), web-based Pesticide Assessment Training.
• Organized multiple presentations and seminars to educate public health students and professionals about border and binational health issues. 
• Coordinated several technical trainings and workshops for public health professionals to enhance their capacity to assess and respond to health issues in the border region