Cuban Medical Brigade Ends After Thirty-Six Years
For more than three decades, Cuban doctors have been a fixture of Belize’s public healthcare system, helping to fill critical gaps in hospitals and clinics across the country. But that era is now coming to an end. The government has announced that the thirty-six-year Cuban Medical Brigade program will be discontinued, with healthcare professionals instead being offered direct contracts to continue serving in Belize. Minister of Health and Wellness told News Five today that the move is designed to preserve essential medical services while ushering in a new chapter in the country’s longstanding healthcare partnership with Cuba.
On the Phone: Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health & Wellness
“We have been discussing various options on how we will deal with the Cuban brigade. As government through cabinet had agreed that we will end the brigade in terms of its program. However, in the interest of Belize and in an interest of ensuring that we have continued service we opted to enter into direct contractual arrangement with the individual health professionals that are here in Belize. And that is where we are. I know it’s been a while that we have been discussing this matter, and now we are finally at the stage where we have made that decision. And we now will be engaging through the Ministry of Health and Wellness with these individual Cuban health professionals to ensure that we can sign contract with them individually.”
Britney Gordon
“Through this new agreement, have all the doctors apart of the brigade opted to stay in country?”
On the Phone: Kevin Bernard
“Of course you know that when it comes to that we will approach every individual. It all depends. People have a choice, no? But I believe that for the most part I am optimistic that we should be, we should will have the full ninety-two personnel that are currently in country that was part of the then brigade that I believe that we will be able to engage them to stay in Belize to continue their employment.”
Bernard said the government is continuing to recruit and retain healthcare professionals while investing in the long-term training of Belizeans through scholarships and a thirty million workforce development plan. He declined to comment on whether the decision to end the thirty-six-year Cuban Medical Brigade agreement was influenced by diplomatic tensions, saying that question falls under the purview of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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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