Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is an island nation in the Windward chain of the Carribean Sea, north of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Colonized by the British around 1663, the small volcanic island changed hands between the British and the French 14 times between the 1660s and 1814. Independent since 1979, Saint Lucia remains a Commonwealth Realm with Queen Elizabeth II as the official head of state. The economy has long been dominated by banana exports, but the government has been trying to expand into new sectors over the past decade, particularly in the areas of tourism and offshore banking.

Saint Lucia, a tropical paradise, is relatively free of communicable diseases, with few cases of malaria, yellow fever, and dengue.

The population of Saint Lucia is 170,650 and growing at 1.3 percent annually. This growth is the result of a robust birth rate and low death rate; many Saint Lucians are leaving the island for better opportunities elsewhere. Life expectancy at birth is currently 70 years for males and 78 years for females. Infant mortality is low at 12 deaths per 1000 live births; among children aged 1 to 5 years, the rate is 14 deaths per 1000 live births.

Saint Lucia is relatively free of communicable diseases, with few if any reported cases of malaria, yellow fever and dengue fever in recent years. There is a mild outbreak of diarrhea infections every couple of years, but with 98 percent of the country using safe water sources and 89 percent using sanitary facilities, these are fairly limited in scope. The country's immunization rate has risen to about 95 percent for common childhood diseases. The island has been polio-free since 1970.

The major causes of morbidity and mortality on Saint Lucia are accidents, cardiovascular diseases, cancers and diabetes.

In a 1990–95 survey, researchers found the 85 percent of all births take place outside of marriage and 40 percent of island households are headed by single women. Contraceptive use among women is estimated at 47 percent. UNICEF put antenatal care coverage at 48 percent, but 99 percent of all births take place with the help of skilled attendants. Maternal mortality is rare.

Saint Lucia has both public and private healthcare providers, managed under the island's Ministry of Health. Both offer a mix of both curative and preventative medical services.