40-Bed Facility Part of SOUTHCOM Humanitarian Assistance Program

US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), through the US Embassy in Belize, has donated a field hospital to the country, valued at $1.1 million (€950,000).

The donation represents a further pillar in ongoing US commitment to supporting Belize’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies. The second donation of this nature, the field hospital follows on from the 18 August donation of 345,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

The 40-bed hospital, fully equipped with generators and air conditioning systems, was funded by SOUTHCOM’s Humanitarian Assistance Program (HAP), and is equipped to conduct a variety of surgical procedures. SOUTHCOM staff members also offered a three-day training session for staff from Belize’s Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW), the Coast Guard and the Defence Force, demonstrating installation, dismantling and transport procedures.

The state-of-the-art mobile field hospital will provide the MoHW with the vital capability to quickly provide appropriate medical care whenever and wherever it is most needed. To date, SOUTHCOM has provided some $3.8 million in assistance to Belize in support of COVID-19 mitigation, and the HAP has donated over $50,000 worth of additional medical supplies.

Florencia Lucero Heguy and Santiago Rivas in Buenos Aires for MON