Cabinet to Decide Future of Cuban Medical Brigade in September

Cuban medical professionals have become a familiar part of Belize’s healthcare system, but their future in the country is still uncertain. The Government of Belize is now weighing options to keep members of the Cuban Medical Brigade on the ground, as Cabinet prepares to make a decision in September. For now, discussions continue over how best to retain their services and what their continued role will look like. According to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francis Fonseca, Belize has been engaging US officials about the matter as Belize seeks a solution that could allow Cuban doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers to remain in the country through work permits or permanent residency arrangements.

 

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“It’s an ongoing discussion. It’s an ongoing discussion.  The Prime Minister was recently, as you know, was in Washington DC, where he met with the Deputy Secretary of State, Landau. They discussed that matter. So it’s an ongoing discussion. My position still remains  and our position at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs still remains that we believe that there is an opportunity for us to keep certainly elements and members of the brigade. How we do that, how we structure that, is still under discussion. But I am hopeful that we can work out some arrangement which allows doctors, nurses, other medical professionals, Cuban medical professionals, to get work permits or permanent permanent residence status, something of that nature. But that discussion between ourselves, Ministry of Health and Wellness, you know, that is ongoing.”

 

The ongoing talks come as government officials weigh several options for the program’s future, including a possible phase-out, before presenting recommendations to Cabinet next month.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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