Amidst all the bad news of crashing cane prices, and babies being murdered, there's the feeling of darkness covering the land….but, we do have a bright sport for you tonight.
It's in the health sector where Belize has been awarded for making important advances in access to quality health care for the most vulnerable 20% of the population.
We're talking about women and their new born children and the IDB says that Belize has been able to meet and surpass ambitious targets in the timeliness, coverage, and quality of health services for this key demographic.
A ceremony was held today in Belmopan to underscore this outstanding accomplishment. Here's more from the health specialist:…
Dr. Inez Tristao - IDB Health Specialist
"Today we are celebrating the tremendous progress that Belize has done in maternal and child health indicators in the last 5 years for Orange Walk, Cayo and Corozal districts which have benefited more than 30,000 women and children. It's something that 5 years ago we had jointly decided to work together to accelerate the critical health indicators for women and for children. Today 5 years after that what we see is a tremendous improvement and what means for the Ministry of Health, it means a prize of 150,000 US dollars."
Dr. Cassandra Rogers - IADB
"Belize is one of 2 countries that have actually met all of the indicators so congrats to Belize. For example early postpartum care has increased by 81 percent, likewise the use of oxytocin, a hormone that speeds up delivery and reduced the risk of heavy bleeding during child birth increased from 34 percent to 98.7 percent and the number of infants receiving quality care after delivery went from 19.4 percent in 2013 to 88.7 percent in 2017, really significant results. We are now entering into the third phase which will further improve the access, use and quality of maternal neo natal and child health services in the Corozal, Orange Walk and Cayo districts."
The grant of 150 thousand US dollars will be used to invest in furthering the program.
The evaluation assessed 20 different health facilities and surveyed over 400 women, and found that the quality of health services offered also improved substantially.
This project cost US$600,000 which was financed by the Government of Belize and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) with funds from a group of donors comprised of the Carlos Slim Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Government of Spain.
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