by Blaire Santos | 13th November, 2023 | Blog 6: Memory only matters for the future
Belize’s healthcare system is underfunded, understaffed, and often unable to meet the population’s healthcare needs. The system has encouraged brain-drain of the country’s most talented healthcare practitioners, which has led to a plague of medical negligence, leaving a trail of preventable deaths in its wake. This crisis can be partly attributed to structural violence stemming from the misallocation and theft of resources intended for hospital construction and the implementation of universal healthcare. The origins of this issue can be traced back to the mishandling of the notorious super bond, which continues to impact Belize’s healthcare industry. Quoting a working paper from the IMF titled “Belize’s 2016-2017 Sovereign Debt Restructuring—Third Time Lucky?” Benjamin Flowers, a journalist from Belize Breaking News, cites that from 2006-2007,
“Веlіzе ехсhаngеd іtѕ vаrіоuѕ ехtеrnаl соmmеrсіаllу hеld рublіс dеbt іnѕtrumеntѕ, іnсludіng bоth lоаnѕ аnd bоndѕ, іntо оnе ѕіnglе U.Ѕ. dоllаr-dеnоmіnаtеd bоnd (2029 bоnd оr ‘Ѕuреrbоnd 1.0’).”
Where did the Superbond come from? (breakingbelizenews.com)
Flowers further explains that “Тhе реrіоd оf thе ехсhаngе fаllѕ undеr thе Ѕаіd Мuѕа аdmіnіѕtrаtіоn (1998-2008) whеrе а numbеr оf lоаnѕ wеrе tаkеn fоr рrојесtѕ ѕuсh аѕ the … Unіvеrѕаl Неаlthсаrе Ѕеrvісеѕ (UHS) lоаn, аmоng оthеrѕ.” This bond was initially valued at 547 million USD but has since grown to over 4.2 billion USD, with practically nothing to show.
Dennis Jones was a victim of Belize’s structural violence meted out in the healthcare system. Daddy Jones, as I used to call him, was a cornerstone of Belize’s development and was well-respected throughout the nation for his integrity. As an economist, he spent most of his career working alongside non-profits and he spearheaded numerous initiatives as the Managing Director of the Belize Enterprise for Sustainable Technology from 1997 until he died in 2021. His daughter Ydahlia said,
“His last project was focused on addressing deforestation and forest degradations. This is the kind of work he had done for decades.
Jones, Ydahlia. (2021)
Daddy Jones had been a constant in my life ever since I became best friends with his daughter, Cheryl, in Standard III.
He ate well. As a former fitness coach, he exercised regularly. When he got a suspicious fever after spending time with some Italians on a work trip in 2020, he recovered after only two days. In the following months, he developed a strange discolouration on his toe. He went to three different places to test for diabetes, and all tests were negative. As far as anyone could tell, he was healthy.
So, in August 2021, when Cheryl asked me if I could buy a Pepto-Bismol for Daddy Jones because he was throwing up, I was shocked. I once saw him put ice in expired pineapple juice and say, “Cold kill germs,” knowing full well that it didn’t work like that; however, nothing happened to him because he had a “jankro stomach.” After delivering the medicine, I returned home and saw four jankro perched on my balcony, and I hoped it meant nothing. Soon, Daddy Jones was hospitalised at the Belize Medical Associates, a private hospital considered the best in the country. After his initial release, he stayed in the city with family members, and I visited him. He couldn’t lie down comfortably due to his hiccups, and occasionally, he spat up the nothing he’d eaten, but he was optimistic. I talked to him until he fell asleep. That night, I visited again, along with his three daughters. He joked that all four of his pikni were present, and the moment was lovely.
That was the last time I saw him. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Belize introduced curfews and restricted movement across district lines. Plus, I was fearful because my father had recently died of COVID-19 in December 2020.
After several endoscopies, doctors could not figure out what was wrong with him. So, he decided to go to a private clinic specialising in gastroenterology. I had gone there before and spent BZD 17,000, only to be misdiagnosed with celiac when I had H-pylori. Still, I hoped for the best as Daddy Jones underwent his first surgery on September 6 to remove an intestinal blockage. On September 7, he was breathing independently, awake, and talking, and his vitals were good; however, his blood count soon plummeted. It was left up to family and friends to gather blood donors on his behalf. On September 11, Daddy Jones was rushed into his second surgery. He was supposed to do a CT scan, and his nurse gave him the wrong dye to drink. His surgical cut started to leak fluid and then bleed. On September 12 he was out of surgery, but by the following day, Daddy Jones had another complication—a blood clot in his lungs. So, we had to find more blood donors amidst strict lockdowns, which had people afraid to even look outside. Somehow, we succeeded, and on September 17, the clot in Daddy’s lung was cleared. His haemoglobin count stabilised, his vitals were good, and he started drinking liquids. Nevertheless, on September 19, his haemoglobin count dropped to 6 because the blood thinners to remove the clot caused excessive bleeding. Thus, he needed more blood donations and had to do another surgery, or he would die of sepsis. The success rate was 50/50, and his quality of life would never be the same.
By now, the surgeon was convinced that Daddy Jones had Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease, which was making it difficult for him to recover. Hope was minimal, but on September 21, Belize’s Independence Day, we celebrated, feeling like every jubilee song was sung just for him. The surgery went well, and Daddy Jones seemed like he would be just fine. Cheryl said,
“I didn’t even know I could feel this kind of joy.”
Jones, Cheryl. (2021)
We cried. We laughed. Then, on September 22, he had a heart attack. It was caught early, but this was not good news, and on the 24th, Cheryl said,
“Daddy needs another surgery. One of the ileostomy bags isn’t working, and the surgeon needs to fix it. We can’t afford to keep him at the private hospital, and he will need intensive care. So, they’re making arrangements for him to be admitted to the ICU at KHMH.”
Jones, cheryl. (2021)
The Karl Huesner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) is the national referral hospital of Belize. Built in 1995, many of the KHMH’s facilities need repair, and it has earned the nickname “Kill Him Murder Her” after numerous incidences of negative press ranging from dead babies to racoon infestations. A friend working in a public hospital at the time said, “KHMH’s overloaded and overworked. It’s so unfortunate.”
On September 25, Daddy Jones emerged from his fourth surgery. He was doing alright, all things considered. He was very swollen. His kidneys and heart were overwhelmed, but he was breathing on his own and stable. He was transferred to the KHMH, where his nurses turned out to be former students of the recently retired Mama Jones, his wife. They allowed her to stay and take care of him.
We thought things were finally going to turn around, but then the surgeon suspiciously said he wanted to do a fifth surgery to check for any leaks. There was no evidence of that, so Daddy Jones decided not to have another surgery, but on September 29, Cheryl announced that Daddy Jones would get a fifth surgery. The surgeon did not close the site of the ileostomy bag because he was expecting it, not the function, but it functioned, so he had to go in to close it, and he waited until the site was bleeding to admit his mistake.
Alexia said, “This is his last and final surgery! Claiming it.”
Sensing doom instead of hope and thinking of the four jankro, I hastily added, “And he will live to be 110♥.”
Daddy Jones came out of surgery, and the surgeon said it went well, but the next day, his small intestines had another leak. The anesthesiologist said, “It’s a risk,” but the surgeon wanted to go ahead and try some glue to prevent leaking, and Daddy said he would let them try one more time. Mama Jones phoned everyone to send love and wish him well.
He went into his last surgery on October 1, and Cheryl sent no updates. On October 3, she told us that on the previous night, Daddy Jones started to have convulsions and had to be intubated. He was unconscious, and short of a miracle, we were going to lose him soon. On October 4, a miracle happened. Around 7:00 p.m., Daddy had been extubated and was stable and conscious. Cheers and heart emojis floated about until Cheryl messaged at 10:39:
“Daddy was pronounced dead at 8:45 tonight. I don’t know what else to say really. He just stopped breathing. At least he went peacefully. At least he isn’t suffering anymore.”
Jones, Cheryl. (2021)
After emerging COVID-19, we theorised that COVID-19 likely induced Daddy Jones’s immune disorder. COVID-19 testing was unavailable in the country when he got sick, and we only had the “Covid Toe” as evidence that he may have had the illness. Still, with his delayed diagnosis and multiple botched surgeries, it was clear that Belize’s healthcare providers had failed him.
Daddy Jones used to say that out of the missing super bond funds, Belize could have built forty hospitals. In 2008, Musa’s People United Party (PUP) government was scandalised in the media for the missing funds and was subsequently voted out in favour of the United Democratic Party (UDP). The UDP government remained in power until 2020, when the current Prime Minister, Johnny Briceño, took office. While spearheading the fourth restructuring of the super bond, Christopher Coye, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, said that the unsustainable debt, which they did not create, was inherited from the previous administration, failing to mention that the debt began under a PUP government.
Briceño was Said Musa’s Deputy Prime Minister. Although he denounced some of his fellow partisans and resigned from the party in 2007 amidst the party scandal, he was the Minister of Finance.
The ongoing occurrence of structural violence undermines the public’s trust in the healthcare system. Furthermore, the loss of life results in long-lasting consequences for Belize’s future, especially when some lives touch so many others and create meaningful change in the nation’s welfare. Without a commitment to accountability in allocating resources, quality care in Belize’s UHS remains a sham. Moreover, the lack of development in the health infrastructure and worsening demands for health care services amidst a rapidly growing population has led to the migration of highly skilled individuals, compounding structural inequalities and hindering development. Therefore, addressing structural violence is essential for creating fair and inclusive systems that benefit all members of society.
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