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This afternoon Taiwan’s Ambassador to Belize Ting Joseph Shih formally handed over a container with two hundred thousand dollars worth of medical equipment to the Ministry of Health. The equipment which includes portable x-ray and ultra sound machines were donated by the Tao Yuan Hospital in Taipei. They are the second half of a US$200,000 assistance secured by Health Minister Pablo Marin when he visited Taiwan in November. The first half was in cash but the equipment didn’t get here until Christmas Eve. It has now been unpacked and CEO in the Ministry of Health Dr. Peter Allen says they will go where they are needed.

Dr. Peter Allen, CEO – Ministry of Health
“There are x-ray machines, ultrasound machines, anaesthesia machines, operating theatre tables, electrocardiograph machines to monitor heart and patient safety monitor machines for operating theatres and they will go to places of course where they are most needed to principally to the Western Regional Hospital. The Tao Yung Hospital in Taiwan along with the regional management team led by Pearl Ellis of the Western Regional Hospital created a twin relationship and so the Tao Yung Hospital is particularly keen on helping the Western Regional Hospital.

They can only improve the delivery of healthcare. One donation is never enough to do everything that we would like but they can help to improve and along with the other efforts of the ministry and our other partners, we intend to make sure that the people of Belize keep getting quality healthcare at an affordable cost.”

The Ministry of Health has another container of equipment and supplies waiting to be unpacked at its Central Medical Supplies Compound. It is from a group in Chicago and includes wheelchairs, beds, surgical instruments, and other medical supplies.