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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.〔Health Systems Profile Belize (2009). Area of Health Systems and Services HSS-SP Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization. Retrieved from: http://www.paho.org/blz/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=64&Itemid=237〕 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.〔Ministry of Health, Belize: Health Agenda 2007 – 2011. Retrieved from: https://www.healthresearchweb.org/files/National_Health_Policies-Belize_2007-2011.pdf. Specifically, the MoH’s mission is to deliver quality primary, secondary, and tertiary health services with an increasing emphasis on primary and preventative care〕 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.〔 ==Current History== The need for improved primary healthcare strategies was recognized during the 1980s. A formalized assessment of the health sector was not approved by the Government of Belize (GoB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) until 1994.〔 Two years later, the MoH launched a National Health Plan, "Quest for Equity", which included an analysis of the major health conditions and determinants of health impacting Belize.〔 The results revealed a number of problems surrounding the health sector and identified key policy areas and priorities for improving the healthcare system. The issues identified in the diagnostic report laid the foundation for government initiated Health Sector Reform Project (HSRP), which was implemented in 2000. The primary objectives of the reform project included increasing access to care, improving quality of care, and ensuring the efficient and equitable delivery of care across both health sectors.〔 One of the major accomplishments of the reform project included the establishment of four health regions (northern, central, western, and southern health region) designated to provide health services to distinct geographical areas across Belize. All four health regions offer primary care and secondary care services. Only the Central Health Region, which serves the largest population in Belize, offers tertiary care services (Health care delivery for description of levels of care ).〔Ministry of Health, Belize. Retrieved February 2nd, 2014 from: http://health.gov.bz/〕 In addition some progress was made in terms of the organization and management of the health system. Since the inception of the HSRP, there have been continued efforts focused on reformation of the health sector with the national goal of improving health status through accessible quality care. In line with these goals, the health agenda for the 2007–2011 National Health Plan included a list of essential public health functions that specified minimum performance levels that both the public and private health sector must adhere to in order to maintain and improve health outcomes.〔 During this time, there was also further expansion of primary care services and an increasing emphasis on mental health. For example, the MoH launched a strategic mental health plan in 2009 aimed at integrating mental health services into primary care.〔 Specifically, the mental health plan aims to achieve greater mental health through increased delivery of community-based care and targeted efforts to improve prevention and management of mental disorders as well as improved psychosocial rehabilitation.〔〔Belize: Nationwide district-based mental health care. Retrieved February 3rd, 2014 from: http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/services/Belize.pdf〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Healthcare in Belize」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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