Table 23: Percent of respondents of the 2011 Belize Coverage Exercise currently attending school, by age, sex and work status (worked for pay or for the family in the last month) Age 15 16 17 18 19 15 16 17 18 19
Did not work Worked Females 80.9 100.0 74.5 61.9 61.5 34.4 48.8 36.2 33.1 32.4 Males 96.8 87.2 78.8 53.3 66.7
58.8 78.3 46.7 37.9 22.2
SECTION 4: CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS CONCLUSIONS
T
he data presented in this report are an important evidence base for policy analysis and decision-making around program design and resource allocation. They provide a snapshot in time of both the supply side (i.e., the demographic profile of beneficiaries at select service provision sites where data were collected for the CE) and the demand side (i.e., population-based statistics from the 2010 Belize Population and Housing Census) of the lives of adolescents and youth in Belize. Through the cross-referencing of these distinct sources of data, a process referred to as triangulation when three or more sources are used in conjunction, stakeholders can begin to identify the subgroups of young people who are under-represented at service provision sites but, due to their unique circumstances, are in need of attention. Data from the 2010 census, particularly the authors‟ analysis of the 10% sample, underscore some of the important issues young people in Belize face: early parenthood, low secondary school attendance and high unemployment, among others. Each of these play a significant role in limiting young people‟s ability to access the information and resources necessary for a healthy transition to adulthood and to ultimately realize their dreams. Additionally, each subgroup of young people – either from certain geographic areas or ethnic groups – experience these issues differently as evidenced by the variance in their outcomes. For example, Mayan females experience the highest rates of teen pregnancy and the lowest levels of school attendance (both primary and secondary) among females while Mayan males show the lowest grade-for-age rates.
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