A 14 member health commission was sworn in today at the Belize/Guatemala border in the shadow of the oas adjacency zone office. The commission is comprised of 7 guatemalan and 7 Belizean health sector officials who will work at improving the healthcare of communities along the border in both countries. Minister of health Vildo Marin addressed the gathering stressing the need for close cooperation in the area of healthcare for residents on both sides of the border:
Hon. Vildo Marin – Minister of Health
"Health is truly everybody's business. The challenges for the health of the Guatemalan people are the same as the challenges to the health of the Belizean people. The same mosquitoes drink our blood, the same virus kills the brightest and best of our young people. We drink water from the same river. We breathe the same air. Each year the challenges to the health of our people grows larger and more complex from the quality of our physical environment to the nature of the disease-causing microbes which share it with us"
"Health teams working together not only provides solidarity and support to our communities but also invokes the spirit of altruism, the best qualities of humanity that instills confidence in our people and demonstrates that we not only care but that we also offer practical assistance. Peace and health go hand in hand the clenched fist cannot grasp the hand of friendship"
"The Belize/Guatemala health commission seeks to unite the efforts of our two countries in an initiative which promotes health, peace and prosperity. Friends working together, partners in health collaborating in collection of appropriate data, sharing information in prioritizing our common problems objectively and scientifically. Good neighbors working hand in hand to develop comprehensive proposals for projects to address the concerns of all our people, Belizean and Guatemalan."
Dr. Peter Allen – Commissioner
"The commission stems from a 2001 agreement which was signed but never operationalized between the two countries to form a commission that conducts epidemiological surveillance; to look at the kinds of problems that people face along the border particularly in relation to health issues and to prioritize those problems. And to develop project proposals and programs to address those issues together."
The commission is tasked with formulating and reviewing plans of action in improving care for malaria, dengue, rabies and other diseases in the border areas.