Punta Gorda. Services are provided to people all over the country including remote villages. According to its Annual Report for 2010, in 2010 it held 801 clinics of which 79 were outreach clinics in the most remote villages in the country. In these PEC clinics 11,104 persons were seen and examined by their optometrists of that 19.2 percent (n=2129) were children. Patients are referred from clinics but not all need rehabilitation. In 2010, 170 persons received rehabilitation services with children receiving priority. A lot of the services provided by BCVI are done through three RFOs (Corozal/Orange Walk (North), Belize/Cayo (Central), Stann Creek/Toledo (South), itinerant teachers, classroom teachers, parents, and volunteers using the CBR approach. According to Mrs. Musa, Executive Director, volunteer optometrists would come from the United States from time to time to provide services to the underserved areas of the country and there are local optometrists who volunteer their services at the PECs. BCVI also works with the business community to identify job opportunities for the visually impaired. BCVI is using its database to understand the causes and evolution of blindness and visual impairment in Belize. It is currently examining the increasing number of children with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and is working allowing with Neonatal Unit of KHMH to implement strategies to reduce the incidence of ROP. According to the National Eye Health Plan 2010-2014, there is no national screening program and the exact number of newborn babies with ROP is unknown. One of the four strategic directions of the National Eye Health Plan 2010-2014 is the “Reduction of blindness and visual impairment in children.” A recommendation made to the Executive Director during the interview to collect information for this Situational Analysis was for BCVI to collect data on how many children receive glasses and how many are given free. It was well received. Children in NHI coverage zones are given free glasses through the insurance program. There are some major milestones for BVCI in preventing blindness, maintaining sight, and rehabilitating persons with impaired or loss of vision. Its database is now a part of the Belize Health Information System (BHIS) which helps to tract children and others through the health system and to provide better and more effective services for them. Another milestone is a National Eye Health Plan for Belize 2010-2014 that brings together the views and experience of all stakeholders. BCVI is also participating in
VISION 2020 which is a global initiative to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020 and reduce the prevalence of preventable or curable blindness.
8.3 Red Cross The Belize Red Cross has supported the plight of children with disabilities in Belize since 1981 and implemented two major projects for children with disabilities. One of these projects was the Belize/ Netherlands Red Cross Disability Project that started in 1990. Under this project nine teachers were trained as rehabilitation educators, CBR officers were trained, and a manual was developed by representatives from the Ministry of Social Services, NaRCIE, BCVI, and the Belize Red Cross. A film entitled Enabling Belize’s Disabled Children was also developed as a public awareness tool. Other major accomplishments of this project were the training of teachers to deal with children with disabilities in their class. The other project was an Empress Shoken (Japan) grant of approximate $53,000 earmarked in 2002 and 2003 to help persons with disabilities to acquire income generating skills. According to Longsworth (2006) “Thirty-five young persons, 12-25 years old, were the recipients of skill training and life skills training. An educator who received training in the Belize Red Cross/Netherlands Project was employed as the director for the Empress Shoken Project. Two persons with disabilities, who were accomplished artists in carving and craft work, were employed to support the activities of the Project. Computers, printers, and sewing machines were procured, and paintbrushes and art supplies were bought and distributed to the participants.” Despite all the activities described above the project was not sustainable because of the lack of funding. Currently, Red Cross only support to children with disabilities is providing wheel chairs to those with mobility disability.
8.4 World Pediatric Project (WPP) The vision of World Pediatric Project is “Every child, regardless of geography, will have access to quality, critical care so that they can live full and productive lives.” And it has helped many children in Belize over the last 10 years with a variety of surgeries including orthopedic, urology, general pediatric surgery, neuro surgery, cardiac surgery, plastic and magilo facial surgery, and ophtalanology. Children would not have gotten these surgeries if it was not for WPP.
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