AIDS in Belize

Society's mentality

Aids is a very scary fact in Belize but lets not forget the Society's part in all this! Ask all the men in Belize having a wife and sweetheart or manheart in many cases........ Men are not stigmatized in our society to carry on multiple relationships and many expose thier wives and significant others to this disease on a daily basis.

Why dont we start by seriously condemning our leaders (All politicians guilty) for having children all over the place, nothing more is a clear indicator of unprotected sex......It seems that the people in our society are faced with a dilemna of being called a hypocrite if they dare criticize this type of behaviour. I see politicians, newspapers editors, ceo's, Senior officers within government etc etc etc have multiple children with multiple women and the behaviour continues in a vicious cirlce because lets face it, Belize is a chavaunistic, male haven!

What has happened lately is the women are now catching on, more independent and more sexually revoluted and now Belize is caught in one big unsafe sex fest where the disease is thriving (I plan to write a book one day about how everyone is related sexually somehow to the other in Belize, kinda like the hollywood book on how everyone is somehow connected to Kevin Bacon!:D )

I know it is no laughing matter but we need to put off all the bull**** and the media need to start getting serious........Can they really be sued by these politicians etc etc etc people to condemn the lifestyles, to sue would be denying thier own children, but then again who knows, I guess to condemn the behaviour, one would need to look within himself or herself and risk being called a hypocrite!
 
Time for Sister Margaret to come back to Belize!

Things are really bad and it makes me feel that I am running away from my destiny by continuing to stay here in the states while my country goes to the dogs.
 
Situational Analysis of HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize

16 March, 2005 - Belmopan
After more than one year of offering free universal Antiretroviral
Therapy (medications against HIV/AIDS) and Voluntary Counselling and
Testing Services, the National AIDS Programme, Ministry of Health has
obtained technical support from the Caribbean Epidemiological Center
(CAREC), Center for Disease Control and Prevention-Global AIDS Programme
(CDC-GAP) and Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and will, in
collaboration with these partners conduct for the first time, an
in-depth and specific Situational Analysis of HIV/AIDS Care and
Treatment in Belize and develop a National Operation Plan for
Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize.

Specialist in areas of planning, clinical management of HIV/AIDS, Human
Resource, Monitor and Evaluation and Information System will be in
Belize from March 17th to 23rd, 2005, to assess the current HIV/AIDS
care and treatment programme, identify gaps and make recommendations for
improving and providing comprehensive, integrated, meaningful and
quality services to Persons Living With HIV/AIDS.

They will be meeting with relevant partners, nongovernmental
organizations and, of significant importance, two groups of Persons
Living With HIV/AIDS.

This is a very critical step as the Ministry of Health, Belize, is
embarking on the PAHO 3 x 5 Initiative (treat three million persons with
medications by the end 2005) aimed at scaling up care and treatment, at
the same time is about to receive the funds and implement the proposed
activities of the Global Fund and this will be combined with the
activities of the National AIDS Programme/Ministry of Health through the
provision of financial resources from the Capital II Budget of the
Government of Belize.

The methodology to conduct this mission includes guidelines and specific
tools that have been developed. This National Operation Plan for
Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize will include outcome
indicators pertinent to treatment and care that are a part of the
Millennium Develop Goals and Belize is required to report on these
indicators on a regular basis.

This mission is also very important because it will be the first one
conducted in the entire Region, not only the Caribbean and therefore,
the experience generated can be extremely useful to support this type of
activity in other countries.

The expected results of this mission are the following:

1. Development of the Situational Analysis of HIV/AIDS Care and
Treatment in Belize

2. National Operation Plan for Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment
in Belize

3. Human Resource Strategic Plan for Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care and
Treatment in Belize

4. Monitor & Evaluation Plan, with Indicators, for Comprehensive
HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize

5. Feasibility of an HIV/AIDS Information System for Comprehensive
HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize

The core team from Belize will include: Dr. Pedro Arriaga, , Dr. Victor
Rosado, Dr. Ninfa Ken, Dr. Francis Morey, Dr. Ines Moguel, Dr. Pedro
Noya, Ms. Sandra Jones, Nurse Valerie Jenkins, Nurse Margaret Bradley,
Nurse Carol Tennyson, Ms. Lavern Marin, Mr. Errol Fairweather and Dr.
Paul Edwards.
 
Situational analysis of HIV/AIDS care and treatment in Belize
Thursday, March 17, 2005
BELMOPAN, Belize: After more than one year of offering free universal Antiretroviral Therapy (medications against HIV/AIDS) and Voluntary Counselling and Testing Services, the National AIDS Programme, Ministry of Health has obtained technical support from the Caribbean Epidemiological Center (CAREC), Center for Disease Control and Prevention-Global AIDS Programme (CDC-GAP) and Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO).

In collaboration with these partners the Ministry will conduct for the first time, an in-depth and specific Situational Analysis of HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize and develop a National Operation Plan for Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize.

Specialist in areas of planning, clinical management of HIV/AIDS, Human Resource, Monitor and Evaluation and Information System will be in Belize from March 17th to 23rd, 2005, to assess the current HIV/AIDS care and treatment programme, identify gaps and make recommendations for improving and providing comprehensive, integrated, meaningful and quality services to Persons Living With HIV/AIDS.

They will be meeting with relevant partners, nongovernmental organizations and, of significant importance, two groups of Persons Living With HIV/AIDS.

This is a very critical step as the Ministry of Health, Belize, is embarking on the PAHO 3 x 5 Initiative (treat three million persons with medications by the end 2005) aimed at scaling up care and treatment, at the same time is about to receive the funds and implement the proposed activities of the Global Fund and this will be combined with the activities of the National AIDS Programme/Ministry of Health through the provision of financial resources from the Capital II Budget of the Government of Belize. The methodology to conduct this mission includes guidelines and specific tools that have been developed.

This National Operation Plan for Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize will include outcome indicators pertinent to treatment and care that are a part of the Millennium Develop Goals and Belize is required to report on these indicators on a regular basis. This mission is also very important because it will be the first one conducted in the entire Region, not only the Caribbean and therefore, the experience generated can be extremely useful to support this type of activity in other countries. The expected results of this mission are the following:

Development of the Situational Analysis of HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize

National Operation Plan for Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize

Human Resource Strategic Plan for Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize

Monitor & Evaluation Plan, with Indicators, for Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize

Feasibility of an HIV/AIDS Information System for Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Belize

The core team from Belize will include: Dr. Pedro Arriaga, , Dr. Victor Rosado, Dr. Ninfa Ken, Dr. Francis Morey, Dr. Ines Moguel, Dr. Pedro Noya, Ms. Sandra Jones, Nurse Valerie Jenkins, Nurse Margaret Bradley, Nurse Carol Tennyson, Ms. Lavern Marin, Mr. Errol Fairweather and Dr Paul Edwards.
 
It's individual responsibility. Change your behaviour.
For those numbers to start decreasing in our country, we need for people to go and get their HIV status known.

Do you believe there is a cure...but that it is unavailable to certain ethnic backgrounds?
 
Planners formulate national AIDS strategy
While the world's response to the AIDS pandemic may be longer on hope than it is on cash, there are increasing resources being made available to countries like Belize. But more money doesn't necessarily mean better results. The key, as News 5's Jacqueline Woods discovered, is how to get organised.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The Ministry of Health is in the process of developing the first comprehensive plan for HIV and AIDS in Belize. The work is being done in collaboration with the Caribbean Epidemiological Centre, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the Global Aids Programme and the Pan American Health Organization.

Noreen Jack, Consultant, Caribbean Regional Office, CDC
“The country must have a national strategic plan; they must own it. People might come with various interests and do what they want and what they see, but as a country you need to know what are your objectives and goals in terms of reduction of HIV transmission and how to care for people with HIV/AIDS.”

Dr. Paul Edwards, Epidemiologist, MOH
“Yes, we are in the process of developing a national strategic plan that goes outside of only the Ministry of Health’s response. So we decided we needed to do this because the World Health Organization has a plan called, an initiative called three by five to treat three million persons living with HIV/AIDS with medications by the ending of the year 2005, globally. So, Belize Ministry of Health will be supported financially by that initiative. At the same time we are going to implement the activities from Global Fund and at the same time we have our government’s HIV/AIDS budget of eight hundred thousand Belize dollars. So we needed to look at critically where we are at with relation to care treatment and support, where we want to go and of paramount importance the process of getting there.”

The situational analysis is being carried out by MOH, CAREC, CDC, GAP, PAHO and persons living with HIV and AIDS.

Sandra Jones, PAHO
“The Ministry of Health implemented its treatment and care programme a year ago and like all programmes its time for you to step back and do an assessment of what is happening, look at the strengths and weaknesses and gaps and areas of improvement. So this is what is actually going on and at the end of the day a national plan, which will actually improve under services that is being offered not only by the Ministry of Health but all the key stakeholders that are actively involved in the whole response to HIV and AIDS.”

Noreen Jack
“We have been looking at your various clinics, the voluntary counselling and testing clinics, the hospitals, what patient care is being provided; inpatient/outpatient paediatric care. We have also looked at a really good example a best practise at your prison at the Kolbe Foundation where care and support is being provided to prisoners with HIV and AIDS and that is really excellent. We also visited a number of groups of people living with HIV/AIDS”

Emmerson Talbert is just one of twenty-four inmates living with HIV and AIDS at the Hattieville Prison.

Emmerson Talbert, HIV Positive
“If a person is found to be HIV Positive, they enter into a special phase where they go on a special diet, they are getting the medication if needed and stuff like that.”

“We have like ten or eleven people who are actually on medication alright. They are scattered throughout the prison because we distinctively fight against discrimination and stigma. So everybody gets along very well and with the support group, I am a part of, we educate each other, we educate people who are affected by this virus because as you know to every one person that may be affected, there are six to twelve people affected by it whether family member, friends, kids so have you. So we try our very best to educate people about our status and educate them about how to prevent themselves from being affected.”

Once released from the institution, the inmates voluntarily enrol in an after care programme. The assessment also highlighted other areas that need to be improved and included in the national operational plan. Noreen Jack, a CDC Consultant with the Caribbean Regional Office, says they noticed that there is a real commitment and dedication by a core of people but that interest is concentrated in Belize City, Dangriga and the Cayo District.

Noreen Jack
“At present it may have reached its limits in the current situation. So you need to look at all the infrastructure, the human resources that are required, the laboratory supports to scale up the programme further to really bring care to people living with HIV/AIDS and care is not just for the people who are sick, it is even the people who are HIV positive but are healthy you should bring into care.”

The work is expected to conclude by the end of the month at which time there will be in place a National Operational Plan for Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Treatment and Support. Jacqueline Woods for News 5.
 
I think AIDS is already out of hand in Belize

because of the sexual chain. You have the downlow brothers, the whorish men and the whorish women. Everyone is looking for love in all the wrong places and finding a vicious disease.


Everyone maybe infected and because AIDS can come cloaked in any form of cancer, heart attack, brain tumor...etc people just aren't calling the spade a spade. Therefore, they pretend it wasn't AIDS, it was a brain tumor, cancer....this only causes denial and the sexing goes on and so does the AIDS.
 
hey Mags, ease up on the language. I know it hurts to see our people in such distress but we need to exhibit sympathy and empathy.I visit Belize from time to time and I always leave with mixed emotions.As much as it is the land of my birth,and there is a residue of sadness when I leave,I find myself glad to be coming to America.Here in America I have become accustomed to a lot of the amenities and opportunities.I am not a" party animal" but there are lots to enjoy.
Belize does not provide much to do and like my good friend Bemetu said:" even dis yah enjoyment wahn get taken frahm dem." You and I know life is more than sex, but for some people only alcohol and sex can make them feel like they are still in the game.
Respectfully Zpania
 
Ch 5:

Tourism & agric sectors participate in HIV/AIDS workshops
This week the International Labour Organization and the U.S. Department of Labour HIV/AIDS Workplace Education Programme continued with presentations to the tourism and agriculture sectors. The workshop seeks to achieve a behaviour change communication strategy that the respective companies will be able to use in their workplaces.

Sheila Middleton, Coordinator, Workplace Education Prog.
”These are specific strategies of how the information will be relayed to the persons in the workplace. So each company, for example we have people participating from Belize Sugar Industry, at the end of this workshop there will be a draft workplace programme, and within that it has specific areas of training that they have identified based on the formative assessment that we did. What we did was that we had all the companies under the agriculture sector, we selected some of them and we went into these organisations and we interviewed people and find out their behaviours, their attitudes, their practices and some of the things that they would like to see in the workplace. And based on that, the additional people that came from BSI, they are helping us develop that programme for their workplace.”

Middleton says when you look at the statistics for HIV and AIDS, it's the productive sector that is being most affected. The programme continues later this month with workshops for the service sector which includes utilities, sanitation, and banking.
 
Ch 5:

AIDS orphans need assistance
When most of us think about the victims of HIV/AIDS we think about adults who are living with the disease or efforts to prevent its spread. But we seldom consider its impact on the youngest members of our society, children left behind by those who have died from AIDS or whose parent is HIV positive. Today the first national workshop was held to mobilize agencies to help Belizean children affected by or infected with HIV/AIDS. And while the children were not physically present at the session, their words and feelings were on everyone's mind.

Janelle Chanona, Reporting
According to the United Nation’s Children Fund, it is one of the most neglected crises spawned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the plight of an increasing number of children who have lost one or both parents to the deadly disease. Belize’s children have not been immune to this disturbing trend.

A UNICEF study completed in October 2004 has revealed frightening statistics:

Two thousand children have already been orphaned by two hundred and forty maternal and four hundred paternal AIDS deaths

Twelve thousand children are vulnerable because two thousand, two hundred women and three thousand men are HIV positive in Belize.

According to the UNICEF study:
Each adult HIV infection in Belize results in approximately two children becoming vulnerable and each adult death results in approximately three orphans.

For every Belizean who has already died from AIDS, there are nearly three more who are living with HIV

As part of the study, the children ages six-thirteen, who were aware that their parents had died from AIDS, were asked what advice they would give to infected parents.

The children said:
”Don’t tell your children lies and tell them the truth if they ask.”

“Ask their children to support their mom and take them to the hospital so they don’t die when they are sick.”

When the children were asked what advice they would give to other children whose parents were infected, they said:

”Love your mommies and daddies all time.”

“Don’t be ashamed of your parents because they brought you into this world.”

Juan Fernando Aguirre, UNICEF
”The invaluable loss of parents result in children assuming adult responsibilities before their time; facing stigma, gender discrimination, poverty and inadequate social services.”

“This is getting worse by the fact that HIV/AIDS is killing people who have the skills to help to save these children, including relatives who traditionally help to provide care to them. In addition, teachers and health workers are also dying in unprecedented numbers.”

Roy Bowen, Program Officer, UNICEF Belize
”On the psychological aspect, it is devastating for them. Economically, where parents have died or are unable to work, children don’t have a source of income. So that is an issue. If children are unable to go to school, that is an issue. So the issues multiply all over, so for us as UNICEF, we are trying to see how we can get as many people as possible in the process to respond to it.”

Part of UNICEF’s response in Belize is a project being managed by the Cornerstone Foundation in the Cayo District. The idea is to use the concept of “an entire village raising a child” by networking community groups to donate whatever they can to children and their families who are living with HIV/AIDS.

Minerva Aponte Jolly, HIV Educator, Cornerstone
”No one can do this alone. We need everybody in Belize to be involved. Right now it is estimated that there are approximately fourteen thousand children in Belize that are either affected by or infected with HIV. And those kids are going to need help. When I say affected I mean that a child whose mom is HIV affected is suffering because of HIV. Mom cannot work, people discriminate against that child, he does not have a home. He needs help. He’s being affected because there’s HIV in the family and we need help.”

That help can range from teaching a child to cook, iron, or chop firewood, or paying tuition and books for school. The experts contend that with their safety net gone, vulnerable children will need other responsible adults to ensure their rights to food, shelter, health, education, and to play.

But with infection rates on the rise, officials at the Ministry of Health maintain that all Belizeans need to grasp the reality of HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Paul Edwards, Epidemiologist, Min. of Health
”Many of us Belizeans, think that hey, it can’t happen to me. Even though we are engaged in high risk behaviours, meaning having multiple partners, having sexual activity with many different individuals without the use of condom, not being faithful. I want to say it clearly to all Belizeans, if we continue with this behaviour, very soon we will acquire the virus.”

“I urge everybody, personalize the message about HIV/AIDS. How not to get the disease, and if you have been involved in any behaviour where you might have acquired the virus, know your status today, it is for your benefit.”

According to UNICEF, in coordination with the Dangriga AIDS Society, a similar project will be launched this year to promote what is being called an HIV/AIDS friendly town. We understand that the plan is to fight discrimination and stigma at its roots in an effort to fight the disease within an atmosphere of positive community spirit.
 
Ch 7:

The HIV Threat to Belizean Children


We've all heard the stories, the headlines, and been fed the statistics about the toll HIV and AIDS is taking on Belize. At the end of 2003 which is the most recent year for which there is complete data, there were 2,676 persons in Belize living with the disease, that's 1% of the population and experts note, that's only what has been reported, there is a vast unreported population of persons living with AIDS and HIV. But all the news about HIV has been about its effect on the adult population because it's an adult disease right? Well, not really. A new study by UNICEF shows that while HIV and AIDS is eating away at the workforce, the real threat is to Belize's future. Keith Swift Reports.

Minerva Jolly, Cornerstone Foundation
"We're going to have a lack of manpower because these kids are the carpenters, the lawyers, the policemen, the teachers, and the doctors of tomorrow. So for one thing its going to be a lack of manpower and HIV is going to continue because if we don't educate our children, if we don't educate ourselves, we will just have more HIV. Its very very simple."

And simply put: 2,000 Belizean children are already orphaned and 14,000 more are believed vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. That amounts to one out of every 10 children. UNICEF compiled a report and Program Officer Roy Bowen says these children aren't necessarily infected with HIV/AIDS but they are affected by it.

Roy Bowen, Program Officer, UNICEF
"Vulnerable means that it is likely that something bad is likely to happen to them as a consequence of HIV/Aids. It doesn't mean necessarily that every child we talk about in that 1 out 10 who is vulnerable actually has HIV and Aids. It means as a result of maybe somebody in their family, a mother, a father, or both having HIV and Aids, or may have died, it puts them in a situation where they'll probably will not be able to go to school and finish school, their health might deteriorate, they might not have the necessary nutritional support, the social support, and the community support. That is what we are talking about."

Minerva Jolly,
"Maybe the moms has Aids, maybe the dad, maybe the grandma, and maybe all the money in the family is going towards taking care of a person with Aids so that child has to be neglected because of that. There are many reasons why children vulnerable."

Children who these policymakers say are innocent victims and most times the forgotten casualties in the ravaging aids pandemic.

Roy Bowen,
"You will see that the messages are going out and attention is being drawn to the fact that adults are in a position, the messages are targeted to them. Children in many instances are dependent, and have to be on adults, so if an adult would do some of the things that are required, take on some of the responsibility it would eliminate some of the problems now being faced by children. Its people thinking it will never happen to them and as a consequence it has happened to them children now become in many instances the victims of behaviors that in many instances have led to this. In some instance it is, as you know shown HIV is transmitted to the child, unless its blood transfusion, then its probably happens as a result of being passed on my parents or as a result of sexual contact which is another issue that I think we must deal with."

And Bowen says that is a must or else:

Roy Bowen,
"If we don't address this issue we're going to see a lot of children being raised by relatives and a lot of children who will eventually end up in the care of themselves if we don't have sufficient adults around to take care of the children. We're going to have children raising children and that is not an issue that I think we want to be a part of."

Minerva Jolly and her Cornerstone Foundation is working with UNICEF to formulate a national support network to address the problem. Jolly says the problem strikes at the heart of the community and it will need a community to respond.

Minerva Jolly,
"It has been found that community based organizations do best when it comes to vulnerable children. What we're going to do is try and set up a network, to establish a network whereby people and organizations and the community can contribute so that we can supply the needs of children that are vulnerable because of HIV and Aids. There are programs in place to try to tackle this. For instance there's a program that addresses the prevention of the transmission between the mother and the child. We have free medications for the mother and for the child but people have to learn about these programs and they have to go out and access this assistance that's already there. We have to become HIV friendly and one of the best ways to promote that is letting everybody know that we're all vulnerable. Anyone of us can get HIV. This disease is not prejudice. This disease will attack anybody and unfortunately a lot of our children are being attacked."

The Ministry of Health has an aggressive program to prevent mother to child transmission. 67 pregnant mothers tested positive for HIV last year and what's alarming is that 17 of those expectant mothers this was their second pregnancy after knowing their status. Out of those 67 HIV positive mothers, 35 were younger than 25 years old.
 
Protect yourself against STD's and HIV/AIDS

Dont sleep around with everyone, and more protection.

Life is worth living, Educate yourself and others.
 
After my visit to Belize in February a couple of things came to light in respect to HIV and AIDS education. 1st is that people need to know that there is more than one strain of HIV virus. So, if you are HIV + it does not necessarily mean it is safe to have unprotected sex with someone else who is HIV + as if the strains are different you could be reinfecting yourself and creating further complications. 2nd which was more disturbing to me (as I collect body art) was the apparent lack of understanding of the infection risks associated with tattoos. HIV, Hepatitis and other body fluid transmissible infections can be caught by having a tattoo done by someone who is not sterilising their equipment properly. I visited one or two tattoo parlours and was appalled by the lack of hygeine. Least we forget that the boobylicious Pamela Anderson contracted Hepatitis when having a tattoo and sharing a needle with her boyfriend.

I also have some issues with the sort of religious education given to children which preaches abstinence but no alternative. Clearly abstinence is the ideal, but realistically cultural and societal influences make it an unlikely ideal. Without alternatives, young people's lives are being placed at risk through ignorance which is being intentionally perpetrated in the name of religion.
 
Ch 5:

Y.W.C.A. seeks role in fighting AIDS
It's one of the world's largest organisations dedicated to the advancement of young women... so it's no wonder that the folks at the Y.W.C.A. are taking a hard look at the global AIDS epidemic--a scourge that is increasingly affecting Belizean females. News 5's Jacqueline Woods has more.

Sheryl Terry, Membership Chair, Y.W.C.A., Belize
”I mean people my age are dying, and that’s a concern to me. A lot of people are preaching abstinence, but that’s not realistic. We have to get the facts out that HIV/AIDS is really killing people of my generation.”

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
This week thirty women leaders from the Caribbean are meeting in Belize to see what their worldwide organisation, the Young Women’s Christian Association, can do to address the problem of HIV and AIDS in the region. According to the latest UNAIDS figures, AIDS has now become the leading cause of death among Caribbean adults between the ages of fifteen and forty-four.

Musimbi Kanyoro, General Secretary, World Y.W.C.A.
”It is important because this illness is killing more people in the world today than any other thing that is happening, not malaria, not even the wars. And it is important because now more than half of the people who are dead from HIV/AIDS are women and who are infected and living with HIV/AIDS. If we are a women’s organisation, then there is a lot of responsibility on us. People are going to be asking us, what are you doing, why do you say that you are a women’s organisation that reaches out to help change and inform communities and give knowledge to the communities. So we feel vulnerable, we feel responsible, we feel accountable. This is important.”

World Y.W.C.A. General Secretary Musimbi Kanyoro says her organisation reaches out to twenty-five million people in one hundred and twenty-two countries across the globe. Kanyoro says it is not the first time that World Y.W.C.A. has met to discuss the issue of AIDS and HIV, as the effort has been ongoing since the early 80’s.

Musimbi Kanyoro
”Here in the Caribbean we had a regional meeting in Guyana about four years ago where it was the first time to enforce the fact that every organisation needs to do something on HIV/AIDS. And right now we are doing sort of another check up. And that time the Y.W.C.A.’s in the Caribbean began a concretisation and they travelled from one Y.W.C.A. to the next with a torch saying that it is our responsibility to work on HIV and AIDS. They made a big map that showed what they were going to do, so we are going to be asking for the accountability.”

Kanyoro remains optimistic that they will receive the funds needed to carry out the recommendations made at the end of the conference. Jacqueline Woods for News Five.
 
Ch 5:

New manual stresses nutrition in HIV treatment
And when it comes to health, experts have discovered that many of our problems can be avoided by taking better care of our bodies both before and after we get sick. Diet, as News 5's Patrick Jones discovered, even plays an important part in the treatment of HIV and AIDS.

Patrick Jones, Reporting
The “Healthy Eating for Better Living” manual is a companion to a similar publication launched last year, designed to help people living with HIV/AIDS. Senior Public Health Nurse Dorla McKenzie says people who work with infected persons will use the book in their counselling sessions.

Dorla McKenzie, Senior Public Health Nurse
”This book will be used as a guideline to tell about the importance of nutrition. Nutrition is important in every disease and especially so in people who are living with HIV. We want to prolong their life, we want to prolong the stage between the infection and to full blown AIDS. And nutrition will help to prolong that time in eating the proper food; even after you get into the full blown AIDS.”

The book is being introduced to the nurses at a three-day intensive workshop which started today. Nutritionist with the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute June Holdip says the publication takes into account cultural characteristics that are unique to the region.

June Holdip, Nutritionist, C.F.N.I.
”Generic to the Caribbean, because in developing the manual we did take that into consideration. But what you would find should also happen or can also happen thereafter is that countries may now be able to take this generic protocol so to speak and fine tune it to their country situation because of course, we are not able to include examples of every single country in the region. So that if they choose to go that route, then they would be able to bring examples that are closer to home to make it more relevant to their local situation.”

Holdip says the book also explains the process of nutritional care and the implications of certain anti-retroviral medications and what can be done to help to overcome the side effects. Patrick Jones, for News Five.
 
Ch 5:

Funding agencies evaluate AIDS effort
The Prevention of HIV/AIDS among Youth in Especially Difficult Circumstances is an initiative that seeks to do just that, stop the spread of the disease among Belize's most vulnerable population. These include commercial sex workers, adolescents, out of school young people, homosexuals, and prisoners. But how much progress has been made towards that goal? A report was given today at the Belize Institute of Management.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The project is a joint effort of the Ministry of Health, The United Nations Population Fund, and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund. Today, all concerned parties met to review the project’s mid-term report.

Jaime Nadal, Deputy Rep, U.N.F.P.A.
”It seeks to achieve essentially a review of the implementation of this programme, which we believe is a very important programme for Belize in terms of fighting the spread of HIV and AIDS. And it is essentially about reviewing what has been happening since the programme started its activities. The strengths, the weaknesses, as well as the opportunities that are emerging so we can achieve a larger impact of the programme.”

There are a wide range of activities that have been implemented. The work includes training sessions, educational and awareness campaigns. Today the implementing agencies, Youth for the Future, Belize Family Life Association, Alliance Against AIDS, and the Belize Red Cross, gave presentations on what they are doing to combat the disease. U.N.F.P.A. Deputy Representative, Jaime Nadal says Belize has done a lot in its fight against HIV and AIDS, yet he notes that there are certain areas that need to be strengthened.

Jaime Nadal
”Coordination is very important among the different partners who are involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The national capacity is also something that needs to be continuously strengthened. And training of human resources and retaining those human resources to serve the purposes of the countries is something that we also feel is important. So the strong component in this is training, training and equipping health personnel including social workers etcetera and giving them the tools and the skills so they can do a better delivery of their activities. Those are challenges that the project is addressing.”

A similar effort is being carried out in other Caribbean and Central American countries. The programme's agreement was signed in 2003, but it was not until one year later that the project was implemented.
 
Bz Times:

Youth Advocacy Group Goes to Hopkins
I was one of some students from Ecumenical High School, Dangriga, who attended an over night retreat at the Kismet Inn in Hopkins Village on June 4 and 5. It was a significant experience: we furthered potential as young leaders, and committed ourselves as a group of advocates for human rights in our society.

We arrived at the site in mid-morning of June 4. We first familiarized ourselves with one another by introducing our names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams and goals. It was an interesting exercise because we did so by imitating different personas such as a radio announcer and priest. We also played a memory-like card game to enhance our knowledge of HIV/AIDS (Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

The afternoon of Day 1 was focused on discussing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Advocacy. We conducted a group activity to identify human rights violations, especially concerning stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS. We were introduced to the topic of advocacy, and understood its purpose and what kind of process would involve in it. The connection was then made between advocacy and human rights. That we were brought together to form a group of young citizens to advocate for human rights and eliminate of all forts of stigma and discrimination.

We had two guest speakers Mr. Al Obando, an independent music technician, as well as Ms. Corona Villafranco from Power Mix Radio Station. They were asked to conduct open-ended talks on advocacy and music, and advocacy and the media, respectively.

After a sleeplenss night of chatting and laughing, we sat down for more sessions to start improving our leadership skills. We discussed how to talk to the community and teach what we learned to our friends. This was done so by each participant presenting a small speech and accepting constructive criticism from the group. We also brainstormed topics for advocacy: which of social issues we would want to prioritize. Advocacy for responsibility, respect, education and elimination of poverty, among others, was identified. We then made a commitment to making a difference in the community by continuing with the group and conducting an advocacy campaign.

The retreat was not all about hard work for we had fun activities and went to swim in our beautiful Caribbean Sea. We left Hopkins late Sunday afternoon. When I arrived home I knew what we learnt would stay with us for the rest of our lives because it felt so great to be part of a group like this.

The youth advocacy group has become an integral part of the Dangriga HIV/AIDS Society’s AIDS Friendly Town Project. It is a UNICEF-supported initiative to reduce stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS and people living with the virus in Dangriga. This group of high school students is to influence the knowledge, attitudes and behavior of the community members in a positive way by advocating for human rights and against violations of human rights.
 
belizean said:
This thread has many posts about AIDS in Belize! Why unnu di frig it up! :mad:
Click to expand...

Did you not see everybody done lost their minds up in here. You're beating a dead horse. Nobody can stay focused.
 
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