United States-Mexico Border Health Commission Annual Report 2003

funds for border-related terrorism and emergency preparedness activities on both sides of
the border. Another outcome of the meeting was the preparation of a border
implementation plan for terrorism and emergency response. The Commission has
allocated funds to carry out two levels of strategic planning, horizontally across the
border and vertically in five sub-regions of the binational border states, that are also
forming terrorism and public health emergency preparedness coordination teams.
Through these teams, the Commission is striving for the following outcomes:
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the ten border states;
• Develop a comprehensive, bilateral terrorism and emergency preparedness plan;
and
• Develop a uniform approach to address the regional health strategies for the
border region.
Focus areas have been identified and have served as a guide to all meetings. They are:
• Planning and readiness assessment;
• Surveillance and epidemiological assessment;
• Laboratory capabilities;
• Hazards (biological and chemical);
• Health alert network;
• Risk communication and health information dissemination; and
• Education and training.
The following actions and sub-regional meetings have taken place in the border states, in
coordination with each state’s terrorism planning efforts.
Arizona/Sonora: Meetings have been conducted in the sister communities of Ambos
Nogales, Northern Sonora/Cochise County, Yuma/San Luis Rio Colorado and with the
Tohono O’odham Indian Nation. Through these meetings, several goals have been
accomplished including: forming and expanding a binational group of local stakeholders;
identifying local needs, recommendations and next steps; identifying useful, local models
for binational collaboration; drafting a binational terrorism and emergency preparedness
plan; and producing a binational emergency operations directory.
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