The Texas-Mexico Border Health Services Projects were initiated in 1989 to assist with desperately needed medical and dental services, health professional education and health promotion and disease prevention education. Along the Texas-Mexico border, the health conditions are among the worst in the United States. The diabetes-related death rate in the Border area is at least 25 percent greater than the state rate. Hepatitis A and parasitic infections, borne by contaminated water, are endemic in the Border region. Tuberculosis, dengue fever, and leprosy are just three of the"third world country diseases" that are plaguing this region. On top of this fact is the prevalence of the Border counties having the lowest per-capita income as compared to the Nonborder counties in the state.
