Belize & Cuba renew cooperation agreement
Belize and the Republic of Cuba renewed their cooperation agreement in support of the Cuban Medical Brigade. The one year agreement was signed with the expectation that Cuba will continue to aid in the development of Belize’s health system, through technical assistance, which includes the deployment of the medical brigade that helps in the delivery of health services in Belize’s public health system. Belize has benefited significantly over the years from the agreement which has been in existence since 1999. Reporter Andrea Polanco shares more in the following story.
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
On Wednesday, Belize’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of Public Health of Cuba renewed the medical brigade cooperation. This agreement seeks to strengthen that program and further develop the health system in Belize. Ambassador of Cuba to Belize Lissette summarizes the impact of the two countries working together.
Lissette Perez, Ambassador of Cuba to Belize
Lissette Perez
“I have to say we are very happy about this path that we have travelled together. Relations in the health sector between Cuba and Belize include the presence of health professionals and also the training of human resources. Today, eighty-five professionals work in the public health sector of Belize under the umbrella of the bi-lateral agreement; of them, forty-two are doctors, twenty-nine are nurses and fourteen are specialists in health technology. They are located in all the districts and complement the local human resources in the hospital and polyclinics. Today, we proudly say that about seventy-percent of primary care physicians and specialists currently working in the health sector of Belize are graduates of Cuba or members of the official Cuban Cooperation. It means that the impact has been huge.”
The medical brigade includes medical doctors, specialists, nurses and other health care workers who work in Belize’s healthcare sector. The extension of that program is the medical scholarships awarded every year. Minister of Health Pablo Marin signed the cooperation with Cuba. He highlighted benefits of this agreement on our health-care system.
Pablo Marin
Pablo Marin, Minister of Health
“We can say now that Belize now has the amount of doctors more or less necessary to mandate our country but not the specialists; which that vision also comes from Cuba. I hope that we can get more scholarships because when we realize that our specialists are getting older and they need to retire, we have found that we will have a gap that we need to fill. I want to give thanks to you, the doctors and the nurses and the Cuban people because with all your help, our country has benefitted so much.”
Andrea Polanco reporting for News Five.
