Health and Lifestyle

March 26, 2001

United States-Mexico Border Health Commission

Strategic Framework

Discussion Document

Background:

The USMBHC was created as a binational Commission in July 2000, with the signing of an agreement by the Secretary of Health and Human Services of the United States, and the Secretary of Health of the Republic of Mexico.  At the BHC’s inaugural meeting in El Paso, Texas, on November 27, 2000, the Commission Members, chaired by the Secretaries of Health of Mexico and the United States, directed the Executive Directors of the U.S. Section and the Mexican Section of the BHC to prepare a Strategic Approach or Framework for adoption by the full Commission.

This document is the Strategic Framework, that has been prepared based upon the Agreement signed between Mexico and the United States, and has received input from Commission members from both sections, as well as appropriate border health professionals and officials of the respective health sectors.

Purpose of the Strategic Framework:

The Strategic Framework, and its subsequent modifications over time, will serve as a guide for the Commission Members, Executive Directors, and the staff of both Sections to maintain a clear sense of direction for the BHC, to set out the Mission and Roles of the BHC, and to serve as a basis for the Annual and longer-term Workplans that the Sections will propose and carry out.  The Strategic Framework will also serve legislators, the general public, and those wanting to do business with the BHC to be aware of what the Commission does and does not do.

Necessary Points of Agreement:

As the BHC begins its life as a truly binational organization, it is critical that the members of both Sections come together to discuss and agree upon common objectives and visions of a healthier future at our common border.  It is necessary that the Commission members be in full agreement on action steps and directions, so that they may provide fully committed, ongoing support to their respective Executive Directors and their staff members.  By committing to common objectives and visions, each Commission member will be able to disseminate the BHC’s messages and support its actions in each Commission member’s sphere of action within the community, both as officials and as community members.

It is only by working together within a common framework that real progress can be made to improve health, reduce disparities, and improve quality of life in the border regions.

All Commission members and staff must be able to answer the following questions in a similar manner:

–    Who we are

–    What we do

–    What we don’t do

–    What is our working environment (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats)

–    How we carry out our mission and roles

–    What we expect

–    What others can expect of us

The Mission of the USMBHC:

Due to its binational character, and the membership of the chief health officials and key community health professionals from all ten of the border states, as well as from both Federal governments, the BHC has a unique role to assist in creating consensus between both countries and all border states, and therefore providing the leadership necessary for coordinated actions to improve health and quality of life at the border.

Who we are:  What is the Commission, and who are its members?

The BHC is a binational Commission, created by mutual agreement of the governments of the United States and Mexico, and authorized or ratified by the respective Senates of the two countries, for the purpose of assessing and addressing health problems along their common border.  The Commission members are twenty-six individuals who are firmly committed to health improvement.  Each Section, one for the U.S. and one for Mexico, has thirteen members. The Chair of each section is the Secretary of Health of the respective country. 

Since the U.S. has four border states, there are three members from each state for a total of twelve.  The chief state health officer is a statutory member of the Commission and the other two members are leading community persons nominated by the respective state Governor, and appointed by the President of the United States.

Mexico has six border states, so there are two Commission members from each state. The chief state health officer (State Secretary of Health) is a statutory member, and one member from each state is a leading community person, nominated by the Governor and appointed by the President of Mexico.

What we do:  Roles of the USMBHC

While the BHC has many roles, and these will evolve over time, as it begins its life, these are some of the principal roles of the BHC:

·        Institutionalize a domestic focus on border health which can transcend political changes

·        Become a venue for broad participation by health professionals and others interested in improving border health

·        Promote social and community participation

·        Be a catalyst

·        Be a policy advocate

·        Increase resources for the border

• Encourage self-responsibility for health

What we do not do:

While the BHC has many roles, it does not provide medical care, nor does it make policy, legislation, or regulations.  While many of the Commission members may have one or more of these activities in their other roles, such as state health officers, or physicians, those are not the activities of the Commission itself.

What is our working environment?

We have prepared a SWOT analysis, reviewing the principal Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Potential Threats that the BHC has or faces in its mission to improve health and quality of life along the border.  These points are meant to be kept in mind as the Workplans are designed, and activities are planned and prioritized. 

1. Cataloguing the strengths sets out the resources that the BHC can utilize to address health problems in both the immediate and the longer-term time frames.

2. A review of the weaknesses leads to a clear definition of the opportunities that the BHC can and should address utilizing all the resources that are available to it.

3. Those opportunities then allow for a prioritization of actions to be carried out in the Workplan for the BHC.

4. Finally, a review of the potential threats is a reminder that not all factors are supporting health improvement in the border, and that external circumstances or factors may make the BHC’s job more difficult.