BELMOPAN, Belize — Eleven hospitals and health centers and a laboratory in Belize will be retrofitted to make them safer, “green” and able to continue operating during emergencies and disasters as part of the Smart Health Facilities Project, a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) initiative, financed by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (UKaid) and the European Union (EU).
The Matron Roberts, Cleopatra White, Independece II and Isabel Palma I polyclinics, as well as the San Ignacio community hospital and the Palm Center, were selected to form part of the initiative following an assessment of country priorities and the facilities’ vulnerability to disaster risks. The Western Regional Hospital, the Northern Regional Hospital and the Southern Regional Hospital, as well as the Punta Gorda and Corozal Community hospitals and the Central Medical Laboratory will also form part of this initiative.
“PAHO has been working on disaster prevention and response for 40 years and this has enabled many countries in the Americas to be better prepared to face them,” said the director of PAHO, Dr Carissa F. Etienne, during her official visit to the country.
