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PREVALENCE OF DISABILITY IN BELIZE According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) (2009), in 2000 Belize had 13,774 disabled persons (6,988 males and 6,786 females) which were 5.9% of the population. See Table 5.1. The report also showed a prevalence of 2.5% in the age group 0-4 years which was the highest of nine Latin and Caribbean countries studied. In the age group 5-19 the percentage was the same. The International Disability Rights Monitor (IDRM) (2004) estimated that in 2000 the percentage of children between 3 and 18 years diagnosed with some form of disability was close to 15%. There is no comprehensive database of all children with disabilities in Belize. CARE Belize, BCVI and NaRCIE and others have databases of their clients but even if these were to be combined, the new list would not have many children because not all children are captured in these databases. Some parents don’t bring their children out of their homes because they are ashamed of them and or they don’t think they can be helped so why make the effort. A child in Roaring Creek who had severe cerebral palsy was born at home and does not leave the home. The IRO and the RFO both knew of the case. He was on Cayo IROs database & received home visits & physical therapy support annually. There was however, an eight-year girl with intellectual impairment in San Jose, Orange Walk district who has never been to school and was not a part of any database. According to ECLAC 2011 Belize, Guyana and the Netherlands Antilles had the highest proportion of persons with disabilities of fifteen Latin American and Caribbean countries studied using their 2000 census data. ECLAC 2011 estimated that with no change in the disability risks as measured in Census 2000, the percentages of disabled persons in Belize will grow to 9.5% in 2025 and 14.6% in 2050. Figure 5.1 shows the trend in
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