Belize’s public spending on health was 3.8 per cent of GDP in 2011, equivalent to US$262 per capita. In the most recent survey conducted between 1997 and 2010, there were 83 doctors, and 196 nurses and midwives per 100,000 members of Belize’s population. Additionally, in the period 2007-12, 94 per cent of births were attended by qualified health staff and in 2012, 96 per cent of one-year-olds were immunised with one dose of measles. In 2010, 98 per cent of the country’s population was using an improved drinking water source and 90 per cent had access to adequate sanitation facilities. The most recent survey, conducted in the period 2000-10, reports that Belize has 39 pharmaceutical personnel per 100,000 people.
The public health system of Belize is made up of a network of seven district hospitals, divided into four regions. In total there are around 40 health centres and a further 40 posts. Private hospitals include La Loma Luz Hospital in the Cayo District and Universal Health Services in Belize City. Belize Medical Associates, a private hospital also located in Belize City, is considered to be the bestequipped and most modern hospital in the country.
The majority of pharmaceuticals within the country are imported from the USA, due to the undeveloped domestic processing industry, which concentrates on finishing products from imported ingredients. The entire health, medical and pharmaceutical sector is governed by the Ministry of Health, which is run under the jurisdiction of the Public Health Act and the Health Services and Institutions Act.
The most recent act relating to mental health in Belize is the Mental Health Act (1957). There are 2.9 mental health outpatient facilities, 1.3 psychiatric beds in general hospitals and 11.5 beds in community residential facilities per 100,000 people (2011). There are no psychiatric hospitals or day treatment facilities in the country.
