7 News Belize

H1N1 may have faded from the headlines, but it's still an issue on the health frontlines. And to that end, the Ministry of Health yesterday received a grant from the World Bank valued at half a million US dollars for an Avian and Human Influenza Detection and Response Project. The funds will be used to prepare for the possibility of a potential H1N1 outbreak by expanding current influenza surveillance activities.

Signing on behalf of the World Bank was Carmen Carpio and for the Ministry of Finance was Financial Secretary Joe Waight, who was quite frank in saying, forget about the H1N1, just show me the money!

Carmen Carpio, World Bank
"We have a grant in place. It's slightly above US$500,000. It's for H1N1 preparedness, detection and response. Basically, our grant gives us the opportunity to work with the Ministry of Health on two fronts -- on the detection front, which will allow us to train health workers to strengthen the surveillance capacity of the country, and also on the response effort, in being able to to procure the necessary equipment and being able to have the facilities, the procurement as well of equipment, to do the response activities."

Joe Waight, Financial Secretary
"At our end, we pledge to make good use of the funds, to abide by the criteria. But more importantly, we'll use this to prime the pump, to trigger more money coming in later on from the World Bank and others. Of course, we have to look at other dimensions of the problem. We have to manage our affairs properly, especially our public financial management, to ensure that the limited resources we have are properly placed and the additional resources that we are getting from the bank are well used at the same time. So our pledge here is to use the money wisely, to use it properly, on time, with the hope that there will be a Stage II and Stage III to come."

It is expected that Belize will complete the execution of the Avian and Human Influenza Detection and Response Project by June 2011. No word on when the rest of the money Waight spoke about will start rolling.