Public consultation seeks advice on poverty alleviation

In its efforts to update the National Poverty Elimination Strategy and Action Plan, today the Ministry of National Development held consultations in the Belize District. The idea behind today’s session at Bird’s Isle was to define poverty, specify how poverty affects everyone in the community and recommend ways to reduce its prevalence. Latest statistics, which are already four years old, reveal that while Toledo remains Belize’s poorest district, Orange Walk is now a close second. Numbers in the southside of Belize City are also escalating rapidly. The reality behind the stats is that one in every three Belizeans is poor, one in ten is very poor and that people living in rural areas are twice as likely to be poor as those who live in urban areas. According to organisers, the consultations are crucial because everyone needs to be involved in alleviating poverty.

Carlos Pol, Economist, Ministry of National Development
?We are not just targeting Toledo, Orange Walk and Belize City but we are trying to have a national plan that will try to see if we could have some more intervention plans so other area, employment as you mentioned, we have areas of education, areas of micro-financing as well. So the strategy at the end of the day will show us, show the government where to have specific interventions in order that poverty can be reduced.?

?From this the results and the findings that come out from all the district consultations will be brought to a national consultation, which we have tentatively set for March thirty-first at the George Price Centre. So it is then that the findings will be presented to everybody, especially government officers, N.G.O.s, civil society could listen, could review what has been obtained from the results of the district consultations. By that stage they might be able to suggest what other interventions can be made.?

The theme for the consultations is “Nobadi Boan Fi Bi Poa.”