Cabinet Moves to Keep Cuban Doctors, Eyes Foreign Nurses

Turning now to healthcare and diplomacy, where Belize is working to hold the line on a system under strain. With the agreement for Cuban doctors now expired, Cabinet has directed the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs to find a way forward to keep dozens of foreign medical professionals who remain vital to the country’s health services. The discussions come amid mounting pressure from the United States and growing concern over staffing shortages at home. At the same time, the Briceño administration is exploring new options to boost the healthcare workforce, including plans to bring nurses from the Philippines and Nicaragua. Foreign Minister Francis Fonseca outlines what could be next for Belize’s doctors and nurses.

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Francis Fonseca

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Home Affairs

“I think I reported the last time we spoke that what Cabinet had instructed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs work along the Ministry of Health and Wellness to look at the options available. Our objective is to maintain the Cuban doctors in Belize. We have ninety-two medical professionals, forty-five are medical doctors. They play a critical role in our health system, many of them work in our rural communities. So we want to work and find a way of maintaining their presence in Belize. We are working, the Ministry of Health and Foreign Affairs, working on a plan. And we are also in discussion with the Cuban government to see what options may be acceptable to them in terms of how we move forward. As you know we had an agreement. That agreement expired. So it in the context of some new arrangement or agreement, that we are discussing these options. Our objective is to keep their presence here in Belize.”