Governors of Central America and executives of the Inter American
Development Bank are in San Pedro Town for the inauguration of the 26th
meeting of governors in the region.
Maria Novelo reporting�
"The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is holding its 26th annual
meeting of the Central American Governors in San Pedro Town to discuss the
developmental challenges faced by Central American countries and the
Dominican Republic. President of the IDB Luis Alberto Moreno announced
today that IDB will play a role in confronting those issues including
citizen security and combating crime.
Luis Alberto Moreno -President, IDB
"One of the purpose is to have a deep dive into the challenges, the needs
of this very important region whereby the way the Bank works a lot of time
and a very big effort. We will look today at not only what are the
challenges facing this region because of developments in the world economy
but we will spend time looking at specific issues which includes crime
which is a very important deterrent of development. We estimate that crime
alone is taking away 8% of GDP in terms of cost to the region. We will look
at questions of regional integration and things that we have been
supporting. We will look at other opportunities for growth like tourism
and some of the very important structural reforms that are still needed to
provide growth and soundness to the economies of this region."
Also on the day's agenda, Acting Prime Minister Gaspar Vega and President
Moreno signed a million dollar agreement for the implementation of the
first Salud Mesoamerican 2015 initiative project in Belize. The first of
three planned phases is expected to target more than thirty thousand
poverty stricken young women and children between zero to five years.
Moreno says that while Belize has made significant progress in providing
health services to its people, indicators such as life expectancy and
infant mortality has improved over the years and with the implementation of
the SM initiative, will result in a real impact to the most vulnerable
communities in Belize. With Belize considered a leader in Performance Based
Financing, both the Ministry of Health and the SM2015 initiative will join
efforts to reduce equity gaps to meet the millennium development goals in
the Mesoamerican region.
LOVEFM