Presidents of Honduras and El Salvador arrive for SICA meeting

Honduran President Porfirio Lobo and El Salvador's President Carlos Mauricio Funes touched down on Ambergris Caye today on their way to the SICA conference being held at Coco Beach Resort.

A press conference is scheduled to take place later this afternoon, and details will be posted/printed after...

Island Academy Christmas Program Delights the Crowd

Students at the Island Academy delighted friends and family last night with their annual Christmas program. The evening of musical performances by the students entertained the crowd with classic holiday pageantry, songs and dance.

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.

San Pedro AIDS Commission holds Toy Drive

This year, the San Pedro AIDS Commission is teaming up with the San Pedro Lions Club and Mr. Wil Moreno of the Belize Association of California to collect and distribute toys in San Pedro. Through the program “A Christmas Giving”, Mr. Moreno will provide a couple of boxes of stuffed toys and baby clothing to be distributed by the Members of the AIDS Commission and the Lions Club.
This partnership will allow the Association of California to assist in providing clothes, toys, books and gifts to children on the island. The AIDS commission takes this opportunity to encourage the residents of San Pedro to do the same and help the families and children that are less fortunate with gifts this Christmas season.In charge of the Toy Collection are San Pedro AIDS Commission members: Gonzalo “Chalo” Alamilla, Nita Marin and Tammy Peterson. This trio is working diligently to make this endeavor a successful one. There is a collection bin at the San Pedro Town Council, where the general public is invited to stop by and drop off any gift item that they would like to contribute to the Christmas toy drive.
According to Tammy Peterson of the San Pedro AIDS Commission, “We have decided to partner up with the San Pedro Lion’s Club on the 23rd of December to deliver the gift items, while the Lions carry out their annual Christmas caroling spreading cheer to the San Mateo and Boca del Rio Areas of Ambergris Caye”.
The general public is invited to participate and become a part of this noble effort to bring Christmas to many families, who if not for this drive, would have a Blue Christmas.