Online Donation - TB Fund for the Californias

The TB Fund for the Californias is field of interest fund to provide charitable support to cross-border programs focused on promoting the prevention and spread of tuberculosis (TB) in the California-Baja California border region.

Baja California is the Mexican state with the highest incidence of TB with 49 cases per 100,000 in 2010. The elevated incidence of TB in Baja California contributes to increased TB risks for neighboring California.

The California-Mexico border region is particularly vulnerable to the growing incidence of MDR-TB. In the State of Baja California, there were 25 known cases of MDR-TB in 2010. In San Diego, California, there were 44 cases of MDR TB over the past decade, two thirds having been born in or with close ties to Mexico.

Given the growing prevalence of MDR-TB in the California-Mexico border region, a key funding priority for our Foundation is Puentes de Esepranza, a unique cross-border tuberculosis treatment program that has been providing the following vital support services since 2006:

• Facilitating laboratory testing of specimens from Baja California by the County of San Diego and other reference labs
• Enabling a stable supply of medications for MDR-TB to be available for patients in Baja California
• Providing the required professional staffing to closely monitor therapy for MDR-TB cases in Baja California by promotora health workers
• Creating an expert binational consultation network

Thanks to the Puentes program, over 90% of its enrolled MDR-TB patients received curative care over the past 6 years---an outcome rivaling the best MDR-TB programs in the world. If not for the Puentes program, the State of Baja California would simply have been unable to treat and cure many of its MDR-TB patients. For this reason, it is crtical that we ensure the continuity of the Puentes program.

To ensure the continuity of care, the International Community Foundation has assumed fiscal sponsorship of the Puentes de Esperanza program. Initial support was secured from individual donors, however, additional funding is needed. $200,000 in funding will be required in 2013 to support current MDR-TB case loads in Baja California. The Foundation also seeks to raise $4 million in endowment support to sustain the Puentes program over time.

Do your part to reduce the incidence of MDR-TB in the California-Mexico border region by helping to supporting the ongoing sustainability of the Puentes de Esperanza program. Contribute to the TB Fund for the Californias today!

Learn more about TB in the San Diego-Baja California Border Region:

• Puentes de Esperanza Program Fact Sheet
• California-Mexico Border TB Trends Fact Sheet
• 2012 Global Tuberculosis Report, World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/tb/publications/global_report/en/
• Mexican and Central American TB cases in California 2001 - 2010 by Neha Shah, MD MPH
• Successful treatment of MDR-TB in Baja California by Rafael Laniado-Laborín MD, MPH, FCCP

California-Mexico TB in the News:

• Risk of Deadly TB Exposure Grows Along U.S.-Mexico Border
• Tijuana's Success In Tuberculosis Treatment Benefits San Diego