Around 35,000 people in Belize have a disability. There are efforts to raise awareness about

people with disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

and counter

social stigma Social stigma is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, an individual or group based on perceived characteristics that serve to distinguish them from other members of a society. Social stigmas are commonly related to culture, gender, rac ...

. Several

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

, including

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...

, help increase awareness and the government sponsors an annual Disability Week. Services for people with disabilities is limited and most areas of the country have limited

accessibility Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

Demographics

An estimate of 35,000 people in

have a disability. Around 13 percent of all adults in Belize have a

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

. Estimates in 2009 show around 12,670 to 15,000 Belizians are

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

. The leading causes of

blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

in Belize are

cataracts A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...

and

diabetic retinopathy Diabetic retinopathy (also known as diabetic eye disease), is a medical condition in which damage occurs to the retina due to diabetes mellitus. It is a leading cause of blindness in developed countries. Diabetic retinopathy affects up to 80 perc ...

. One-third of children in Belize are at risk of developing or acquiring a disability. In 2000, it was reported that around 8.5 percent of children with disabilities have a

speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...

language disorder Language disorders or language impairments are disorders that involve the processing of linguistic information. Problems that may be experienced can involve grammar (syntax and/or morphology), semantics (meaning), or other aspects of language. ...

. Deaf Belizians use

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...

(ASL).

Policy

The Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation (MHDSTPA) is the agency that works with people with disabilities in Belize. The Ministry of Health spends around 2 percent of its budget on

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

services. The healthcare system provided by the government does not cover

eye care Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Uni ...

. For people who become disabled after being employed, there are pensions, grants and benefits available. The

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

promotes awareness about issues faced by people with disabilities in Belize through "Disability Week."

Non-governmental organizations

Most

serving people with disabilities in Belize operate independently and do not coordinate with one another often. Funding is limited. The Community Agency for Rehabilitation and Education (CARE) was formed in 2002 after the

Government of Belize His Majesty's Government in Belize, also referred to as the Belizean Government is the democratic administrative authority of Belize, a constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. It was formed in 1981 after gaining sovereignty from ...

did not have the resources to provide for services for people with disabilities. CARE provides community rehabilitation services to individuals in Belize and focuses on children and

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

awareness for people who are blind or deaf. The

Belize Assembly for Persons with Diverse Abilities Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

(BAPDA) started providing individuals with a National Disability Identification Card in 2019. These cards allow individuals to access special services for people with disabilities at various participating locations. BAPDA advocates for the rights of people with disabilities and lobbies the government on these issues. BAPDA has also launched a campaign called "Live and Let Live" where people with disabilities share their experiences with

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

International started partnering with the Government of Belize in 2008. Special Olympics is helping to raise awareness about people with disabilities in Belize. Special Olympic games take place during Disabilities Awareness Week in Belize and include a torch run throughout the country. In 2019, there were 750 children with disabilities registered for the Special Olympics. Individuals needing

can access these services through the

Belize Council for the Visually Impaired Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

(BCVI). The country had four

ophthalmologists Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

as of 2019, one working for BCVI. Support services for children with visual impairment are also available, including

early childhood intervention Early childhood intervention (ECI) is a support and educational system for very young children (aged birth to six years) who have been victims of, or who are at high risk for child abuse and/or neglect as well as children who have developmental de ...

Legislation

The Mental Health Act of 1957 is the law used to regulate

services in the country. People who are considered by a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

to be of " unsound mind" may be placed into a

mental institution Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

. Belize ratified the

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the convention are required to promote, ...

on June 2, 2011. As of 2018, there are no laws in Belize that prevent

in employment based on disability status. People who are deaf are legally not allowed to earn a

driver's license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...

in Belize.

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

who are deaf are also not legally allowed to drive a

farm tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construc ...

Education

Deaf education Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and othe ...

was introduced in 1958, and taught with

Special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

in Belize was established by the Ministry of Education in 1991 or 1994. This special education unit was renamed the National Resource Center for Inclusive Education (NaRCIE) in 2007. Policies that support education inclusion and align with the

Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The Con ...

and also on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities were created and signed into law in 2000. However, the ability to implement these policies is not always readily available. In addition, the policies of inclusive education for children with special needs have not been written into law. Teachers that need a degree in special education have limited resources due to a lack of local training in the country. However, NaRCIE does train teachers and parents on how to work with children with special needs. NaRCIE sets up regular workshops around the country to meet these needs. Other types of professional support come from itinerant resource officers (IRO) who are trained by NaRCIE. IRO's work with children with special needs, evaluating their progress and setting goals for their education.

Accessibility

2018--Belize_-_Dangriga_-_Gate_1_Give_Priority

According to

Frommer's Frommer's is a travel guide book series created by Arthur Frommer in 1957. Frommer's has since expanded to include more than 350 guidebooks in 14 series, as well as other media including an eponymous radio show and a website. In 2017, the company ...

, Belize is not very accessible to people with disabilities.

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...

also writes that most buildings and restrooms in Belize are not equipped to accommodate people with disabilities. The

Belize Zoo The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center is a zoo in Belize, located some west of Belize City on the Western Highway. Set in , the zoo was founded in 1983 by Sharon Matola. It is home to more than 175 animals of about 48 species, all native ...

is fully accessible to people with disabilities. Schools are often not physically equipped to accommodate students with disabilities. There are no regular service to provide

prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

to people who need them in Belize, nor is there a government program to help people seeking this technology. Prosthetic clinics are set up by non-governmental organizations such as the Belize Assembly for People with Diverse Abilities (BAPDA) and Prosthetic Hope International (PHI). Access to physical therapy and other rehabilitation services is very limited as human resources are not sufficient. A study performed in 2020 revealed that physiotherapists in Belize brings great diversity in ethnicity and training. Collectively, few are educated at the masters or doctorate level, but most have many years of clinical experience and additional education and training. While 16 consider physiotherapy their primary occupation, fewer than half are formally licensed by the Belize Ministry of Health to practice. They are entrepreneurial and active in direct patient care, typically working Monday through Friday in private outpatient and home health settings within the densely populated regions of Belize. Most physiotherapists in Belize believe more awareness and governmental investment is needed so that more people can have access to physiotherapy services for the betterment of society. (reference: Hartman J, Johnson LJ, Holder T. Physiotherapy in Belize I. A Descriptive Analysis of the Belize Physiotherapy Workforce. BJM 2021, 10(2):3-11.)

Cultural attitudes

Parents often feel that having deaf children is a sign of

divine punishment Divine judgment means the judgment of God or other supreme beings within a religion. Ancient beliefs In ancient Sumerian religion, the sun-god Utu and his twin sister Inanna were believed to be the enforcers of divine justice. Utu, as th ...

. According to a 2005 study on children with disabilities in Belize, it was found that such children were subject to

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

and

neglect In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness and ...

, including being tied up and beaten. Many were not being provided for adequately by their families, especially in cases when a family had more than one child with a disability. Many children with disabilities, when included in classrooms with other children find themselves facing

. Deaf children are sometimes not allowed or encouraged to attend school. Because of low

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

rates, deaf people are often unable to use writing to communicate with individuals who do not know sign language.

References

Sources

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