And in still more health news, the Director of Health services yesterday told us that big Pharma companies Pfizer and Bayer have made overtures to the Belizean market - but local suppliers don’t want to go through the hassle of taking them up:

Dr. Marvin Manzanero - Director of Health Services
"For example Pfizer costa Rica - who is the regional entity responsible for Pfizer products in the Central American region, came to us earlier this year and said, listen we want to make sure that the products that are Pfizer products are going through the adequate process.  So, we will help any importer who wants to go through that process.  So it’s not that importers are unable to get GMP, CPP, COA, i think it’s an unwillingness, because Pfizer said we will, because we want to make sure that the Pfizer product that is here is a Pfizer product that is supposed to be here interestingly enough, just earlier this week, and we haven’t circulated that information to the media - Bayer, the big Bayer sent to us a listing of products that they will no longer be circulating in Belize. And their fear is that there is counterfeit Bayer products circulating in the market in Belize. So, the way they go about ensuring that their market is protected, that their brand is protected, not the market, is by making sure that all the paperwork is there."

Again, GMP is short for Good Manufacturing Practice, CPP, short for Certificate of pharmaceutical product, and COA, Certificate of analysis.