Health Care, Disease Control, Crime and Safety in Belize

When it comes to looking out at the health of the people, the government of Belize is pretty much steadfast in providing necessary care for the populace especially against diseases that have high degrees of risks. According to UNICEF statistics, the government of Belize was able to carry out immunization programs with a high degree of success. In 2008, immunization of 1-year-old children against TB got a 98% success rate. The success rate for the same program but for the 2-year-olds was at 94%. Polio and Hepatitis B vaccination also reached 94%. Anti-measles campaign had a better penetration rate of 96%. These data show that when it comes to communicable diseases, the government has no qualms in doing what it should do.  Another significant milestone the health administrators of the country have done to improve the lot of the people and lessen the incidence of high risks diseases is the delivery of clean water to all areas in the country as of 2006.

When it comes to hospitals, the people would have no trouble looking for the nearest hospital as the government made sure that each of the 8 districts of the country has one hospital. The more densely populated areas of Cayo and Belize have two hospitals each. So from the hospital set up alone, it can be deduced that the government has indeed a priority on health issues.

However, all is not well in this South American country as there remains one eye sore that really stings the health care officials of the country, and that is the HIV/AIDS problem. As of 2007, Belize has been ranked 30th, a very high ranking, as it reported a 2.1% prevalence rate among adults.

Being a tropical country, the people are prone to dengue fever and malaria. The threat of leptospirosis tends to be high also during the rainy season.  

So all in all, the government is pretty much doing a good job in making the country a much safer and healthier place to live in.