Healthcare in Belize

Healthcare in Belize is provided through both public and private healthcare systems. The Ministry of Health (MoH) is the government agency responsible for overseeing the entire health sector and is also the largest provider of public health services in Belize.^[1] The MoH offers affordable care to a majority of Belizeans with a strong focus on providing quality healthcare through a range of public programs and institutions.^[2]

In contrast to the public health sector, the private health sector provides care to a smaller portion of the population. However, similar to the public sector, private health services are offered at a relatively low cost with a shared emphasis on quality of care and quality improvement.^[1]

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative^[3] finds that Belize is fulfilling 83.0% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income.^[4] When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Belize achieves 99.1% of what is expected based on its current income.^[5] In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves only 86.6% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income. ^[6] Belize falls into the "very bad" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling only 63.2% of what the nation is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.^[7]