Winners of the World Health Day and Earth Day Essay Competition 2008

L to R : Ms. Phaedra Mohammed Ali, Winner; Hon. Gaspar Vega, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment

Belize City , April 22 2008 - The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT), and the Belize Audubon Society, will today honor the winners of the World Health Day and Earth Day Essay Competition 2008. Prizes will be awarded during the Launch of the Environmental Agenda for Belize 2008-2013, to be held at the Radisson Fort George Hotel , 22 April, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in commemoration of Earth Day.

First place winner is Ms. Phaedra Mohammed Ali, student of Wesley College, Belize City. Second place winner is Ms. Laura Carillo followed by third place winner, Ms. Zaildy Acosta, both students of Escuela Secundaria Técnica México, Corozal District.

The essay competition was launched on World Health Day, April 7 2008, under the theme “Solutions for Climate Change”. It was geared to high school students throughout the country with the objective of proposing solutions to the effects of climate change on health, environment, agriculture, and marine life.

The Pan American Health Organization, which is the Regional Office of the World Health Organization, was founded in 1902, and works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of their peoples. The PAHO/WHO Country Office in Belize was established in the 1950s.