Belize Awards 60 Health Scholarships to Strengthen Public Care

This morning, sixty scholarships were awarded to students pursuing nursing, pharmacology, and midwifery, part of an initiative to build a stronger, more resilient public health system. The Ministry of Health and Wellness says this is just the beginning. Cabinet recently approved a ten-year training plan worth over twenty million dollars to boost the ranks of nurses, doctors, and specialists. The ministry has also partnered with the Inter-American Development Bank and the Ministry of Education to secure the funding for these scholarships. It’s a team effort aimed at tackling shortages and keeping Belizean talent right here at home. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano with the following story.

 

Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health & Wellness

“Yesterday, Cabinet approved a ten-year training plan which will see an investment of over twenty million dollars in our healthcare professionals; and that will include nursing, doctors, and those who are also going to be specialized in their field of study. So this is an opportunity to celebrate, and the nursing scholarship and bonding ceremony that we are here [for] today is also very important.”

 

This morning, sixty scholarships were handed out to a group of bright, tertiary-level students studying nursing, pharmacology, and midwifery. The Ministry of Health and Wellness says it’s a major step toward building a stronger, more resilient healthcare system and these students are at the heart of that change.

 

Kevin Bernard

“For me, this is always about investing in our people, in making sure that we are able to train and build on the profession that we are lacking in Belize. Nursing is a necessity and as you are very well aware that we have been losing some of our nurses to the bigger countries, to this is an ongoing process that we have to invest in and try to get as much of our Belizean to study in this profession and that’s what we are trying to achieve.”

 

And here’s the best part, this wasn’t done alone. The Ministry of Health and Wellness teamed up with the Inter-American Development Bank and the Ministry of Education to make it happen. Together, they secured the funding that’s powering all sixty scholarships announced today.

 

Oscar Requena, Minister of Education

“You have been chosen, you will have an opportunity to be able to further your studies and for us at the Ministry of Education and I am certain that at the Ministry of Health, we have every confidence in you that you are going to make good use of this opportunity, that you are going to study hard, you are going to persevere, and you are going to ensure that at the end of your studies you are going to return back to the Ministry of Health or wherever you work, to ensure that you put to good use the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that you learned throughout your course.”

 

Today’s event kicks off a scholarship program by the IDB for over thirty public health professionals helping them level up their skills, expand access to care, and build a stronger, smarter healthcare system for everyone.

 

Camilo Pecha, IDB Country Economist

“The IDB is proud to partner with the Government of Belize on its effort to strengthen the health sector. This project represents a comprehensive investment, one that focuses not only on infrastructure and digital transformation, but also in people who make our health system work. Today’s ceremony marks the official starting of the scholarships supported under the project which will provide opportunities for more than thirty health professionals across the public sector to further their education, improve access to services and strengthen the country’s capacity to deliver quality care.”

 

Isani Cayetano for News Five.