Last month the Ministry of Health released statistics which named cardiovascular diseases as the number one cause of death in Belize so far for this year. Cardiovascular diseases have also placed in the top non communicable diseases list along with hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and chronic renal disease. Minister of Health, Pablo Marin says that it is time to partner with other ministries to tackle the root cause of the problem, one of them being the elimination of the sale of soft drinks at schools.

Pablo Marin - Minister of Health

"The main concern and the main concern in the Ministry of Health is for our people, what they are eating and doing. We need to have healthy lifestyles. Non communicable diseases, you are nurses and doctors but the people out there that are looking at the media they do realize the impact that we do so we need to have more promotion, more education for the people out there. Soft drinks; that is one of the main concerns, we need to eliminate the soft drinks and the sweets in schools and colleges. I will advocate with the Ministry of Education to work along with the Ministry of Health for us to eliminate this first step; this is essential for our people."

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