The Prime Minister mentioned it while touring a new medical centre in the West Landivar area of Belize City. And today the Minister of Health confirmed that N.H.I.–at least the benefits side of the health plan–may soon be coming to a clinic near you. Jose Coye, Min. of Health “Now we want to take another […]
Through the generous help of people and institutions at home and abroad, a baby girl will soon receive life saving medical care. Today, one of the doctors responsible for her good fortune returned home for a visit. Janelle Chanona, Reporting On Monday, thirteen-month-old Jaesha Daly will travel to Birmingham, Alabama where she will undergo a […]
Medical care in Belize has always been a sore point, whether it’s the expense of it all or the lack of quality services. But of late, several private medical groups have made serious investments in new facilities and personnel. Today the team at Universal Health Services joined those ranks as they officially inaugurated their new […]
On Monday over fifty-seven thousand children returned to primary schools across the nation. And what virtually all of them have in common is that each student carries a backpack crammed full of books and supplies. In the past we’ve focussed on the cost of all these instructional materials, but today I discovered that carrying all […]
With the disease known as dengue fever sweeping through neighbouring Guatemala and El Salvador, medical authorities in Belize remain on a high state of alert. And nowhere in the country are officials more vigilant than in the town of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. With its large number of Central American labourers and an economy based […]
Reporting on communicable diseases in a country that depends on tourism for a significant part of its income is not something taken lightly, but health officials are closely monitoring events around us and are preparing to take action should the threat of dengue fever cross our borders. Jacqueline Woods reports. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting Despite an […]
This morning, Belize City residents received free basic medical care thanks a group of visiting medics from the United States. The team of doctors and medical students are here thanks to the efforts of Unity Outreach Ministries in Belize, and according to team leader John Eckhardt, the service might seem minimal but it does make […]
There is no shortage of stories on this newscast that cover the activities of various service and charitable organisations. Many times the coverage seems trite or needless, as it usually consists of some trivial donation for some meaningless purpose. But the family profiled in this next story will tell you that the help they received […]
Dengue Fever is back in the news, as outbreaks in neighbouring countries tend to find their way across the border. Belize has three confirmed cases of classical dengue, believed to have originated in neighbouring El Salvador and Honduras, where both classical and the more deadly haemorrhagic varieties abound. Guatemala has also been placed on a […]
The epidemic known as AIDS is no stranger to Belize or the media, and by now we’ve learned that whatever progress is made against this modern day plague will come in small, but nonetheless important increments. Today I was on hand for one such step forward. Janelle Chanona, Reporting On Monday, nine-year-old Eldrid Martinez died, […]
The report card on the National Health Insurance scheme is out and apparently, the plan has passed with flying colours. The results are part of independent surveys conducted by SPEAR and the University of Belize at various stages of the pilot project. The performance of the scheme was judged in five main areas: equity and […]
One of the drawbacks of a private free market health care system, as practised in the U.S.A. for example, is that intense competition results in even the smallest hospitals purchasing the most sophisticated equipment–even though it can remain unused for ninety-five percent of the day. Seeking to avoid that kind of duplication, the public and […]
As I speak there is a ceremony taking place at U.B. featuring graduates of a course for emergency medical technicians. While I couldn’t be in two places at once, News 5’s Jacqueline Woods spent time with some of the nation’s emergency medical workers and gained a new respect for what the new graduates will be […]
The Pan American Health Organisation is intimately involved across a wide spectrum of health issues in Belize, but it is the first time that the organisation is promoting the issue that quality health care is a human right. The session, which will take place on Thursday night, is part of PAHO’s centennial celebration. PAHO country […]
This month the Department of Women’s Affairs has organized a number of activities to promote a healthy lifestyle. During Health and Nutrition Month, sessions will be held focusing on diseases such as cancer, diabetes and various heart conditions. The talks are scheduled to take place at health centers in the city, and according to D.W.A. […]
Medical advances around the world over the last decade have radically changed the prognosis for people with HIV and AIDS, as new drug treatments have greatly prolonged the length and quality of life for those infected. But for patients in Belize and other poor countries, the latest treatments have rarely become available, due to their […]
Last Week a cane farmer died in San Lazaro Village in the Orange Walk District after he was attacked in a field by a swarm of Africanised bees. This afternoon in Belize City, three hundred and sixty-four students of St. Mary’s Primary School remained behind closed doors as another swarm of killer bees flew into […]
This Saturday is the day for the annual Cancer Walk from Ladyville to Belize City. The activity, which is the Belize Cancer Society’s major fund raising event, also helps to raise community awareness about the disease and what is being done to assist cancer patients and their families. The Society’s President, Higinia Leslie, says since […]
Belizean men, women and children are urged to “run, walk or ride toward a healthy lifestyle” as part of Challenge Day 2002. According to Councillor Lillette Barkley-Waite, this second observance of the day, on May twenty-ninth, is sponsored by City Hall. Lillette Barkley-Waite, City Councillor “A way of fostering healthy municipalities and in the past […]
Tonight, a Belize City family is in mourning after their relative succumbed to injuries during a robbery. Reports are that around eight-thirty last Tuesday night twenty-seven year old Juan Pineda, a cabinetmaker living on Queen Charlotte’s Street, was riding on Cemetery Road near the Lord Ridge Cemetery when two men approached him. The men hit […]
As police search for the two men who attacked Pineda, their job has been that much harder because hospital authorities did not inform them of the incident, and the victim died before he was interviewed. On that point, Chief Executive Officer Alvaro Rosado readily admits the hospital is to blame. Alvaro Rosado “We failed miserably, […]
This week, nurses all over the country are participating in several activities organised as part of Nurses Week. Under the theme, “Nurses, Always There for You: Caring for Families,” the medical practitioners held a community service day where anyone could test their blood sugar, pressure, and eyesight. President of the Nurses Association of Belize, Jennifer […]
As the global pandemic of AIDS becomes entrenched in nations large and small, we are gradually learning that the disease has institutional implications that go far beyond the field of public health. Today the educational community got together to see how they are affected and what role they can play in the anti-AIDS effort. Jacqueline […]
Attention Belize City shoppers: if you were planning to pick up a few groceries at the Romac’s supermarket today, you might have noticed that the doors were inexplicably closed. It turns out that over the weekend, the store hired a fumigator to relieve their warehouse of unwanted tenants and something went very wrong. On Tuesday, […]
Its policies in defence of banana giants like Chiquita and Dole may have put Belize’s banana industry on its knees, but the United States government is apparently trying to compensate in other ways. From May sixth to sixteenth, U.S. Army medical teams will be holding free clinics in Pomona, Silk Grass, Sittee River and Dangriga. […]
