Has the Government Met Plan Belize’s Health Goals?  

Before the People’s United Party took power in 2020, its Plan Belize manifesto promised to completely reform the health system. The P.U.P. vowed to update the country’s rundown hospitals, make healthcare affordable nationwide, and help Belizeans overcome the COVID-19 crisis. Tonight, we look at these promises to see if the healthcare sector has improved under the Briceño administration. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with that report.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

In 2020, during a global healthcare crisis, the People’s United Party came to power. The COVID-19 pandemic had caused widespread devastation, and the PUP promised to make strategic changes to Belize’s healthcare system to ensure that all Belizeans have access to essential medical care.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño (File: Nov 12, 2020)

“And as such we will respect the decision of the Belizean people. As of today, we are no longer P.U.P. standard bearers but we are representatives of the people. We are a government of the people of Belize. And I want to assure everyone that we are going to be an open, accountable, and accessible government for the people of Belize.”

 

In their Plan Belize manifesto, the PUP promised to set up a Public Health Emergency Response Commission to study COVID-19’s impact on Belize and recommend better ways to handle future medical crises. The government quickly secured vaccines and received millions of dollars in equipment donations from foreign allies. They also put strict regulations in place to slow the spread of viruses.

 

Dr. Julio Sabido, Medical Officer, Ministry of Health & Wellness (File: Oct 15th, 2021)

“The curfew remains from nine p.m. to four a.m.  Restaurants, saloons, diners and other similar establishments are allowed to operate.  They may offer dining-in services by reservations only, but for no more than fifty percent of the seating capacity and for fully vaccinated persons only.  Restaurants that have proper ventilation or a restaurant that has, an open-air restaurant or an outdoor restaurant, or an alfresco dining restaurant that is allowed to operate may offer dining in services by reservation only for no more than seventy-five percent of its seating capacity, with fully vaccinated persons only.”

 

The manifesto also promised to appoint a wellness minister to lead a national campaign for healthier living. Initially, the Briceno administration chose Michel Chebat as Minister of Health and Wellness. However, things got chaotic when the ministry’s CEO, Dr. Deysi Mendez, left after just one year. As the ministry struggled to find a suitable replacement, Prime Minister John Briceño replaced Chebat with Kevin Bernard as the new health minister.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño (File: Jan 17, 2022)

“He took it over when the pandemic was at its worst and the Ministry had absolutely no plan and so he took that on and rolled up his sleeves and worked hard day in, day out. Could he have done certain things better? Of course! We could always look back, as we say, looking back you have twenty-twenty vision. But I want to again, put on record, my appreciation for the tremendous work that Michel Chebat did during this very, very difficult time.”

 

Every year, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes and hypertension remain the leading cause of death in Belize. The PUP has promised to improve care for these diseases and work with the Ministry of Education to fully introduce health education in schools to prevent NCDs. In 2023, the ministry launched the Healthy Habits, Healthy Schools, Healthy Belize project, which provides healthier meals to students and cuts down on sugary drinks. The following year, Belize joined the HEARTS Initiative to fight cardiovascular diseases in the region. The ministry has also successfully rolled out the National Health Insurance (NHI) to provide affordable healthcare services to Belizeans nationwide.

 

Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health & Wellness (File:  February 6th, 2025)

“As you are aware, the rollout of the entire district has commenced. There have been  consultations that is taking place. The plan is that by the end of this year, we  should have NHI across the entire country.  So there is a process. I think that in May, we are looking at targeting the Cayo side and then Belmopan city, and then we go on to the other surrounding villages because Cayo district is very huge. It is our hope that by the end of the year, as I said, we would have full coverage of NHI across the entire country.”

The government also planned to support the development of the medical science faculty at the University of Belize. However, in 2024, they faced backlash for deciding to spend millions on land for a university hospital, even though the university had offered free land for the project.

 

Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health & Wellness (File:  August 8, 2024)

“I would not be able to speak on the cost of the land. That is, that is something that is, to the Ministry of Economic Development because that’s the way the decision for that was done. However, there was other challenges, the location of accessibility. Remember, it’s not only a teaching hospital, it’s going to be a tertiary facility where you need to have immediate access and so, they felt after the ministry and other technical team looked at it, they felt that they needed to be at a different location that is more accessible.  But it will continue to serve, as Dean Johnson mentioned, not just the tertiary teaching hospital, but we also want to try and look at how we could implement our regional facilities to also become some level of teaching facilities where people can go in and learn clinical  works and so forth. So, but yes, the decision was made to build a hospital at a different location. We are almost finished with the designs now, and I am hoping that we can break ground on that new facility by the end of this year.”

 

The government has expanded healthcare services across Belize by opening the Placencia Polyclinic and building the San Pedro and Caye Caulker Hospital. They’ve also made several updates to health posts in rural villages, especially in southern Belize. Britney Gordon for News Five.