Binational Health Week

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The County of Santa Clara's 19th annual Binational Health Week (BHW) 2023

BHW was created in 2001 to raise awareness of and respond to the unique health care challenges of Latinos living in the United States and Canada. Locally, the County of Santa Clara is entering its 19th annual Binational Health Week in 2023. During BHW, partners from a variety of agencies including hospitals, clinics, community-based organizations, and volunteers, join together to host a series of events for Santa Clara County residents. These events have taken place over one week in the past, and BHW has expanded to include events throughout the month of October.

To be responsive to the Latino community health needs and issues of most concern, the BHW Initiative Collaborative committee has selected the following themes for this year’s BHW focus:

• Mental health and managing stress
• COVID recovery and resources
• Health care access, screenings, and preventative care
• Nutrition and diabetes prevention
• Substance use

About BHW

Since the start of BHW in Santa Clara County in 2005, the County of Santa Clara has hosted over 376 community events, administered 25,083 health screenings, and collaborated with over 70 agencies each year. Thanks to the collective efforts of our community partners and community members, we have reached over 528,000 residents and counting.

BHW was created in 2001 with the objective of raising awareness and responding to the unique health care challenges of Latinos living in the United States and Canada. Since its inception, BHW has evolved into one of the largest mobilization efforts in the Americas to improve the health and well-being of the underserved Latino population. This has been possible thanks to the leadership of the Secretariats of Health and Foreign Affairs of Mexico, in conjunction with the Health Initiative of the Americas at UC Berkeley, the Secretariats of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and several other Latin American consulates.

BHW promotes community solidarity by bringing together existing resources and thousands of volunteers working together for a common goal. The events are coordinated by the collaboration among Latin American consulates, community, and government agencies from the U.S., Mexico, and other Latin American countries. The purpose of the events is to reach the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people, especially those without medical coverage.​​​

The success of BHW efforts is due to the collaboration, commitment and support of the many agencies and organizations in the community. Together we can continue to promote the health of our community. Join us in 2023!

For more information, contact Maritza Rodriguez at [email protected].