HIV/AIDS POLICY OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF BELIZE. Office of Governance. Government of Belize. August 2007

Belize currently has a rate of infection of 2.6% with 15 to 44 year olds being most at risk of infection. “For a country with limited human and financial resource, it is feared that this epidemic can have potentially devastating effects on the national development.”

Health Sector Reform Project.

The health sector of Belize has been under reform since 1996. Its completion is scheduled for mid 2008. The Health Sector Reform project is being financed by the Inter-American Development Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, the European Union, and the Government. The purpose of the reform is to provide equitable, quality, efficient, accessible health care to all people of Belize. This will be done through the restructure of the health sector, improvement of services, the support of a National Health Insurance Fund, the improvement of infrastructure and the purchase of new medical and laboratory equipment and ambulances. Many health centres have been upgraded since the implementation of the reform project. The National Health Insurance Programme will also be upgraded to include every citizen.

The country continues to educate the public about lifestyle changes to prevent chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes. Primary healthcare can be obtained at community health centres in rural and urban areas. The Ministry of Health operates the country’s Expanded Programme on Immunization through the Maternal and Child Health programme. Immunization services are also available privately. The country has immunization coverage of over 95%.