A health council is a community health organization that examines the health needs, problems, and available programs associated with the council's cross-border geographical area. Approximately 15 binational and tri-national health councils stretch along the border region, to include associated binational sister-cities and two Native-American tribes. Also known as COBINAS, health councils are critical to the BHC because they form an essential framework for acting on binational health issues and priorities by positioning themselves as the local and regional voices for public health.
Currently, the following 15 COBINAS stretch along the binational border linking the 10 border states:
San Diego / Tijuana
Imperial County /Mexicali
Yuma /San Luis Rio Colorado
Tohono O'Odham /South Central Pima County / North Central Sonora
Ambos Nogales( Nogales / Nogales)
Cochise County / Noroeste de Sonora
Columbus-Luna County / Palomas
Paso del Norte (El Paso / Ciudad Juárez / Las Cruces)
The U.S.-México Border Health Commission (BHC), through the Texas Department of State Health Services Office of Border and Outreach Office and in partnership with the BHC Chihuahua Regional Office of the Chihuahua State Secretariat of Health, convened a series of strategic planning workshops in 2008, 2010, and 2011. The workshops were organized to ensure binational community input on existing BHC initiatives and priorities and to identify proposed interventions to address those priorities.
Click on the following links to view proceedings reports that correspond to each meeting:
Participants of the first Binational Health Council Planning Workshop, held on June 26-27, 2008, defined the following two tiers of borderwide priority areas in binational public health for the BHC to assist the councils to address:
ABOUT
US 
BORDER
REGION 
