Síntesis de voz

Achievements

Strengthening the epidemiological surveillance system

The Foundation contributed to strengthen the epidemiological surviellance at the border and federal level, by equipping six Public Health State Laboratories in Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas.

These laboratories have a key role in detection and notification of infec- tious diseases and, currently, they have a Biosafety Level 2. Also, the border states strengthened their technological capacity thanks to modernization of their compu- ter technology.

Some of the funds have been assig- ned to conduct an evaluation to implement an early warning information system, first as a pilot project in the state of Coahuila and, later on, at a national level.

• Creation of a Public Health State Laboratory in Baja California. Thanks to the availability of EWIDS resources, the local government allot- ted funds to build this laboratory, which is being equipped with project funds.

• Strengthening the Epidemiolo- gical Diagnostic and Reference Institute (InDRE) in order that it can partner with the United States Laboratory Network and attain a Biosafety Level 3.

F

DGE, InDRE, Ministries of Health of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, and the United States-Mexico

Other institutions involved Sponsors

United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Training health staff in the Border States

During these past two years, several training events were held on topics such as biosecurity, molecular diagnostic and analytical techniques for detection of agents that can be used as biological we- apons. Also, methodologies were taught for diagnosing emergent or reemerging pathogens of importance to public health, such as corona virus, West Nile virus and influenza A (H1N1) virus.

Perspectives

The Foundation will continue helping to strengthen early warning measures within the epidemiological surveillance strategies and assist also in the development of related information systems. Plans are also underway to continue with training of human resources in topics such as biosecurity and biocustody.

Context

Adoption of food safety measures bet- ween countries helps guarantee hygiene and safety of the food that we eat and decrease the number of diseases cau- sed by contaminated food. Hence, the Foundation’s food safety program works with small and medium sized Mexican enterprises to help them adopt the best handling and processing practices, con- tribute to their training and offer them assistance so that their products comply with national and international quality standards.

T

Food Safety

The Foundation acts as a facilita- tor for interaction between producers, government and academic institutions in order to foster adoption of food safety measures in different production niches.

During the past four years, assistan- ce has been offered in technology trans- fer and training in food safety processes with honey producers in the states of Tlaxcala, Estado de México, Oaxaca and Yucatán, which has strengthened com- petitiveness in the honeybee sector. An example of this is the consolidation of the Tlaxcala Honey Industrial Consor- tium Plant, which, besides overseeing the safety of honey, has implemented better practices for their business.

Achievements

Safety in primary food production The Foundation has obtained financial assistance from the National Social Development Institute (INDESOL), with the purpose of implementing safety measures in primary food production, in order to develop projects with livestock sector businesses in Estado de México, Yucatán and Tlaxcala. It is expected that adoption of these measures will contri- bute to strengthening competitiveness of Mexican rural businesses at a global level.

3M de México, AMEXITEC, Cal Poly, CFPP-Estado de México, FMVZ-UNAM, Fundación ANETIF, Kernel Technologies Group, PNCAA-SAGARPA, SENASICA, Texas A&M University, UAM-X, UCI,

Other institutions involved Sponsors

CONACYT, FUNDEMEX, INDESOL, SAGARPA and USDA.

Consolidation of a center for packa- ging honey in Tlaxcala

The Foundation helped obtain gover- nment assistance to build, equip and operate a honey packaging center with the strictest food safety conditions —such as the ISO 22000 standard for food pro- duction safety and quality—, which has allowed accessing international markets. Strengthening competitiveness in the honeybee sector

The objective of this project is to develop productive and entrepreneurial capa- bilities with an exporter profile among honeybee growers in the Southwest of Estado de México. This project will be co-financed by the Fundación

del Empresariado Mexicano (FUNDEMEX).

Collaboration with SENA- SICA

Development of teaching materials in Good Practices in Handling and Packaging Honey.

Perspectives

In the mid-term, the Foundation will seek a series of strategic partnerships to esta- blish innovation networks that allow im- proved food safety practices on the food industry. In addition, it will work to create a network of experts in generating specific research and technology transfer projects related to early warning and contaminant monitoring systems for food. Finally, it will continue to offer the necessary assistance to businesses involved in food production chains in order to strengthen their competitiveness through setting up systems to bring together food safety.

Queen bee breeding workshop

T

Context

The Foundation is finding new Mexico- United States collaboration opportunities where there is also Canadian participa- tion. Many times they correspond to the interest of promoting a better integration of the region within the framework of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed in 1992, which has as its objective to foster trilateral and regional cooperation; as well as the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), signed in 2005 with the purpose of promoting economic growth, competiti- veness and quality of life in the region, in addition to developing a common focus on security matters.

Activities with Canada take advan- tage of mechanisms such as the Canada- Mexico Partnership (CMP), an agree- ment that fosters economic cooperation through investments, science and techno- logy and education, among other topics. This alliance serves as a framework for proposals supported by FUMEC derived from interaction between the Science and Technology Commissions of the Mexican Congress and their counterparts in the Canadian Parliament.

An exchange of this type can set the basis for collaboration between the three countries in strategic areas, such as energy, environment, and health, among others.