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And switching from Foreign Affairs to foreign visitors….
The Belize Medical and Dental Association is hosting its annual congress. And this year they invited allied health professionals from Mexico and Guatemala to join their Belizean counterparts. The theme of this year's congress is "Robust Primary Care The Foundation To Accessible, Equitable, And Quality Healthcare." Jomarie Lanza found out how that works in Belize and its neighboring countries.
The Belize Medical and Dental Association held its 40th Annual Congress, where dozens of doctors, dentists and allied Health professionals gathered, along with invited medical colleagues from Mexico, Guatemala and Cuba to discuss the similarities and differences between each country's health modules.
The President of the BMDA, Dr Perlita Aldana says that the main focus of this year's conference is to discuss how each country can improve it's primary healthcare sector.
Dr. Perlita Aldana, President, BMDA
"Today we have representation from the Colegio Médico de Chetumal and we should be having from the Associo de Médico de Peten, and then we also have the Jefe de Médico abrigada de Cubana in Belize. Why because they are here and they are collaborating with us with their health personnel that are working in our country, so we are just having this morning in round table type of thing everyone presenting their different health modules so that we can know what we have and what other possibilities there are that we can use positively so that we can grow."
"We also have the people from the National Health Insurance presenting to us what is the NHI, and what we as medical doctors can expect from it. I do believe that it's an interesting Congress for us as I said before. It's not that the secondary and tertiary health are not important, but it's very important for us to strengthen our foundation, our primary healthcare so that from there we can move forward and grow. This year we as an association have started to expand our wings we are having different district chapters. We are trying to reinforce the membership, the growth, the fellowship of our association to also encourage research with our members and everything that will help us grow in a holistic manner."
While Belize has yet to establish its own medical school, Quintana Roo's Colegio Medico plays a key role in the development of their primary level healthcare. The president of the school told us today that one of the shared patterns they notice in Belize's and Mexico's health system has to do with transmissible diseases.
Dr. Francisco Lara Uscanga, Presidente, Colegio Médico QR
"Mira trabajamos conjuntamente los médicos de Belice Guatemala y en la zonas de México del cual tenemos un programa permanente educación continua donde compartimos temas son de relevancia para todos las profesionales de salud de la zona el propósito de participar con ellos precisamente que fijamos en el convenio en las mejoras condiciones profesionales y tener una mayor capacidad para generar bienestar en la gente que espera mejor servicios de salud."
"Estamos en una región tropical donde los pares cimientos no reconocen fronteras principales aquellos que afecten a la parato digestivo en algunas enfermedades que transmiten en unos vectores como el mosquito que son desde hace muchos años un azote para arrastrar gente y que nuestro sistema de salud debe tener los elementos para poder prevenir todas las enfermedades."
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
"So we work conjoined with the doctors in Belize, Guatemala and other zones throughout Mexico, where we have a permanent continuing education program where we share topics that are relevant to all health professionals in the area. The purpose of participating with them is precisely what we established in the agreement, To improve professional conditions and have a greater capacity to generate well-being in people who expect better health services."
"We live in a region where diseases do not recognize borders, those mainly being the ones that affect our digestive system, and some diseases that are transmitted by vectors such as the mosquito that has been out for many years affecting people. This is why our health systems carry the same elements so that we can prevent these diseases together."
Atanascio Cob, an Ear Nose and Throat specialist says that for although Belize's Healthcare system has made significant progress towards equal health for all, we still have a long way to go if we plan to adapt the health modules from other countries that were presented today.
Dr Atanascio Cob, Ear Nose and Throat Surgeon
"Well this is the most important event I think over the years the medical and dental Association has been leading the continued medical education for Belizeans, and has now focused on one of the primary things in healthcare, the convention of primary health care. This morning we heard some presentations on modules, modules in Cuba in Mexico and the modules in Belize City, and what struck me with the presentation from our colleagues from Mexico, is that everything is very beautiful on paper. It's a beautiful and wonderful presentation, but in reality the practice of it needs more because most of the people that sit down in offices, writing these beautiful modules on how we should implement primary health care or health care, in Belize in general, the reality is very much different."
"We have advanced a lot in primary care. I must congratulate our Ministry of health, but there is so much more to be done. We need to be more outgoing, more outreach programs, teaching our people to prevent, and to learn how diseases can be prevented so that they don't reach to where they have to lose a foot for example, diabetics you know it's not just saying to the people eat healthy, but we need to show them how to eat healthy with what we produce in Belize or what kind of food we have in Belize."
The Congress is a three day event.
