Chronic Illness: The Hidden Epidemic of Belize

This oral presentation is on my three weeks spent on the island of San Pedro, Belize in order to complete a Public Health Klemm fellowship. Each week, I traveled to various areas on the island and watched the demographic and linguistic differences between each. The national language is English, though a large majority of the population speaks Spanish and Belizean Creole. Belize faces an abnormally high rate of high blood pressure, diseases, heart disease, and obesity for such a small population. These diseases frequently go undetected due to the lack of healthcare resources. For example, on the island of San Pedro there are no hospitals, simply one "polyclinic." There, you could wait hours to be seen and face unreasonably high fees, so the citizens cannot visit for a simple check-up. At daily mobile clinics, I offered free blood sugar, blood pressure, height, and weight checks for anyone who visited. Outside of the clinic, I offered a hygiene class to a local primary school and spent hours chatting with my host family.