36th SICA Conference being held on Ambergris Caye

Security at the San Pedro Municipal Airstrip was heightened with BDF officers, members of the San Pedro Police Department, and other Protection Forces as early this morning the Foreign Affairs Ministers and Ambassadors of Guatemala and El Salvador arrived on the Island.

Snipers were visible on the roofs of nearby buildings around the airstrip

A series of meetings have started both at the technical and vice-ministerial levels, in preparation for the visit of the Heads of State of all Central American countries. The visit by the leaders is part of the Central American Integrated System conference which will end on Thursday when all leaders are expected to discuss a number of issues related to the region before participating in a joint press conference on Thursday afternoon.

The meetings at the technical level started on Monday evening while the vice-ministers met behind closed doors inside the conference room at Coco Beach Resort on Ambergris Caye. The meetings continued on Wednesday with senior officials, including the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the various countries. The 36th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and the Government of SICA will see the participation of six Heads of State including the Prime Minister of Belize, the Honorable Dean Barrow.

At the entrance to the dock in front of Rubies were BDF and even our very on ASP Arnold was on hand to provided the added security to our foreign delegates as they boarded the vessel carrying them north to their destination

Hon. Dean Barrow is slated to arrive on at 4:00pm.

Southern Regional Hospital to be certified as a Baby-Friendly Hospital

Press Release – Belmopan - December 9th, 2010 - The Ministry of Health and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is pleased to announce that the Southern Regional Hospital will be certified as Baby-Friendly on Monday December 13th, 2010 in Dangriga Town at 2:00pm.

The Ministry is especially proud because this ceremony comes one month after Belize was honored with the Americas Award 2010 in the category of “Improvement of Maternal Health” attended by the Minister of Health, Hon. Pablo Marin at a ceremony on November 15th, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Southern Regional Hospital is the fifth hospital within the public sector that has met all criteria in the promotion, protection and support to successful breastfeeding. No private hospital has yet to achieve this important standard. Breastfed infants have a decreased risk of diarrhea, allergic skin disorders, respiratory and ear infections among others.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to encourage and recognize hospitals that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding. The BFHI assists hospitals in giving mothers the information, confidence, and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies.

The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, Corozal Community Hospital and Northern Regional Hospital were all certified in 2008. Punta Gorda Community Hospital was certified in the month of August 2010.