Belize Leads the Way with Zero Tolerance for Maternal Mortality

"We had zero maternal deaths in 2011," said Dr. Natalia Largaespada-Beer, director of maternal and child health for Belize's Ministry of Health. "Every obstetric emergency is considered a national emergency." Belize has pledged to meet the UN's anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals, reports of which are due in 2015. Some strategies the country has implemented are building community and mobile clinics, as well as distributing folic acid and iron to reduce the risk of anemia in young women.