HHS Assistant Secretary for Health John Agwunobi Visits U.S.-México Border

At the Bridge of the Americas (El Paso, Texas) ADM John Agwunobi signs a form commonly used at U.S. Ports of Entry

March 23, 2007 – On March 9, 2007, ADM John O. Agwunobi, M.D., Assistant Secretary for Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), spoke at the closing plenary session of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) Early-Warning Infectious-Disease Surveillance (EWIDS) Trilateral Workshop in El Paso, Texas. During his address, ADM Agwunobi emphasized the important linkages between local, State, tribal, Provincial, and Federal public-health authorities in North America, especially in the area of infectious-disease surveillance. The workshop represented the first-ever technical consultation between epidemiologists, disease-surveillance experts, laboratorians, and health-messaging experts from local, tribal, State, Provincial and Federal levels in the United States, Canada, and México.

Following his address, ADM Agwunobi visited the U.S. Port of Entry at the Bridge of the Americas in El Paso, which U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operates. During his visit to the Port, DHS/CBP officials briefed ADM Agwunobi regarding Port operations in a variety of areas, including cargo and agriculture inspection, and processing of vehicular and pedestrian passengers. He also visited the El Paso Quarantine Station, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within HHS operates. HHS/CDC Quarantine Station staff briefed ADM Agwunobi on the role of the station’s work within the Port and their larger efforts in the region at the U.S.-México Border.

Last revised: October 10, 2007