Belize Looking Beyond Cuba to Recruit More Medical Professionals

In related news, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oscar Arnold says discussions are underway to recruit additional medical professionals from across the region and beyond. Arnold provided the update earlier this month, explaining that the initiative forms part of government’s broader efforts to ensure that Belize maintains adequate healthcare personnel while strengthening the country’s medical workforce.

Oscar Arnold, CEO, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “I know Cabinet had instructed both ministries and gave them six months to get back to them with any proposals or any solutions. Since then I have been engaged in conversation, prior to being posted here but my post as ambassador in Mexico, to look at universities there that have a nursing program to see whether they would have a capacity or an extra capacity for nurses to be recruited from that area. I know that we are in discussions as well with El Salvador. There’s always discussion with the Philippines but I believe sourcing medical practitioners within the immediate vicinity of Belize in the countries around us has been a new option and we’re actively pursuing that. The Ministry of Education is also involved is also involved. We do provide or many students do attend universities in Guatemala, in Mexico, a few of them now are attending in El Salvador and so a list is being compiled of these individuals to see whether or not in the coming months that they will be able to fit this profile. We do have a few medical students who will be finishing their courses and their programs in Cuba as well within the next few months and so we’re hoping that these individuals would help to fill some of the gaps that will be created in the event this brigade has to come to an end.”

On April 6, Minister of Foreign Affairs Francis Fonseca confirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Wellness had been tasked by Cabinet with exploring alternative recruitment options while simultaneously working to preserve the long-standing partnership with Cuba.  At the time, Fonseca stressed that the government’s priority remained retaining the approximately ninety-two Cuban medical professionals currently serving in Belize, including forty-five doctors who play a vital role in delivering healthcare, particularly in rural communities. However, he acknowledged that Belize continues to experience a shortage of healthcare workers, especially nurses, and revealed that officials were examining additional sources of recruitment, including the Philippines and Nicaragua.