CitCo holds healthy city forum

Today the Belize City Council and the Pan American Health Organization hosted a forum on the “Healthy City”. Representatives of government departments, NGOs and other agencies whose help would be needed were invited to present their views on the initiative which the City Council says it plans to adopt next year. The consultant from the World Health Organization’s Center for Healthy Cities based at the Indiana University School of Nursing says the goal of the program is to improve the quality of life of citizens in a particular community. The strategy began in 1986 in Ottawa, Canada and has spread to cities in Europe and the United States.

Beverly C. Flynn, Center for Healthily Cities

“In our work we have really found that healthy cities work best if they involve the different sectors in the community. People from local government, the social services, the health sector, non-governmental organizations, but more importantly local community people who are going to be affected by the decisions that are made to improve the health of the community.”

Flynn says besides forming partnerships with the relevant agencies, certain infrastructural improvements will be necessary to help improve the health of Belize City residents. Deputy Mayor Merilyn Young tells News Five the initiative has already been approved by the council, but they need the commitment of the Ministries of Health, Education, Human Development, Local Government, the Environment, and the Police Department and relevant non governmental agencies if they are to make the plan work.