Belize

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• The majority of rural households lack adequate sanitation.
• Stunting due to malnutrition affects about one child in five. The figure among boys in some Maya communities is more than twice as high.
• Belize has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Central America. Many people avoid testing because those diagnosed with the virus are typically shunned and marginalized. Girls and young women are especially vulnerable to the disease.
• Other problems include levels of crime and violence, human trafficking and domestic violence.
• Birth registration is not a standard practice.
• Primary school enrolment is above 95 per cent, but rates of drop-out, grade repetition and failure remain high. Only a quarter of poor children continue on to secondary school.
  

Activities and results for children

• A national network has been formed to protect orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. The religious community has been mobilized to provide comfort and outreach to affected families.
• To confront the discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS, Dangriga Town was declared an ‘AIDS-Friendly Town’ and is now home to a voluntary counselling and testing centre.
• The ‘Xchange’ movement has inspired hundreds of young people to promote non-violence, HIV/AIDS prevention and positive lifestyles in their own communities.
• The age of criminal responsibility has been raised from nine to twelve.
• UNICEF supports the government’s task force on human trafficking by providing training for police officers and tourism officials.
• A national birth registration drive, complete with a media campaign, has been launched in Belize’s poorest districts.