AIDS in Belize

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Ch 7:

The Army & HIV/Aids


They confidence build with Guatemalans, jungle train with the British and now the Belize Defense Force is learning about aids from the U.S. army's Southern Command. The BDF and the U.S. SOUTHCOM are jointly holding a 5 day peer training seminar. The idea is that soldiers will gain Aids awareness, not in the classroom or lecture hall, but from their own peers. We stopped in at the Biltmore where SOUTHCOM's Major Cheryln Brown told us that the U.S. Army sees HIV and Aids education as priorities.

Major Cherlyn Brown, SOUTHCOM
The United States and the Department of Defense have partnered with the Caribbean countries and with Central America to help with the fight of HIV and Aids and we are doing this by providing technical assistance in helping to establish or support educational programs to help the military or the Defense forces understand how HIV and Aids is transmitted and to also help decrease stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and Aids."

Brig. Gen. Lloyd Gillett, BDF Commander
"There are three reasons - first there are national security implications. Secondly we want to have healthy soldiers and, third, if we can help to reduce the spread of HIV and Aids in the BDF then we help the national fight against HIV and Aids."

Major Cherlyn Brown,
"HIV and Aids is one of the most preventable sexually transmitted diseases and we are trying to get the message out, especially to the defense forces, to understand the significance and importance of trying to decrease the spread of this disease."

Brig. Gen. Lloyd Gillett,
"We have over the years been giving the information to our soldiers. We have a very robust program with the Pan American Social Marketing Organization (PASMO). They've been out trying to train the trainers, increase awareness, and get people get people to adopt the right attitudes and behavior change. I mentioned that there are national security implications and as the HIV infection rate goes up, then the total manpower available for military service will decrease and we won't be able to recruit our future leaders, officers, and soldiers and our country will become more attractive to the transnational criminal organizations and others who want to do our country harm. At the moment we have seen that within the force, our infection rate is less than that of the general population and that is so because we are a more healthy population, we do more testing as well, and it is also so because on entry people are screened before they come into the force. We are hoping that the peer education techniques that they get here will be able to assist the participants to go out and spread the message to those other soldiers that are out there and even when they are out in the evening having fun, these peer educators will be able to try and influence the behavior of those other soldiers."

The training seminar runs through to Friday.
 
National AIDS Commission welcomes HIV/AIDS Policies

15 December, 2005 - Belmopan
At the end of their meeting today, members of the National AIDS
Commission and Partners who joined in the meeting, welcomed the passage
by Cabinet of Belize’s National Policy on HIV/AIDS as well as the
HIV/AIDS Policy for the World of Work.

Both Policies have now been adopted by Government as was announced in
the Cabinet briefing earlier this week. All Commissioners and Partners
expressed their approval and satisfaction at this very important step in
the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The National Policy on HIV/AIDS is built on a firm commitment to Human
Rights and Responsibilities with the four major areas of commitment
being 1.) Individual and Collective Responsibility, 2.) Voluntary
Counseling and Testing, 3.) Confidentiality and 4.) Reduction of Stigma
and Discrimination. The National Policy therefore is the bedrock for
the enabling environment to provide greater prevention efforts as well
as Care, Support and Treatment for all persons living with HIV/AIDS.

The HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy stresses the tripartite partnership of
Government, Employers and Employees in tackling the HIV/AIDS Epidemic as
an important workplace issue. It also stresses the importance of
involving persons living with HIV/AIDS and non-discrimination for
employment purposes.

Commissioners also welcomed Government’s commitment to provide a full
time head of the National Aids Program of the Ministry of Health, taking
into account the importance of scaling up National efforts in 2006.

The meeting also conducted a review of activities and strategies in the
year 2005, and Commissioners pledged their redoubled efforts.

Of particular note was the active participation in the meeting of
several persons living with HIV/AIDS, and all Commissioners present
committed themselves and their organizations to encouraging and
facilitating the increased involvement of persons living with HIV/AIDS
as a critical part of the solution to this great struggle.

The National AIDS Commission wishes all partners and all Individuals and
Organizations who have supported the passage of these National Policies
a Happy Christmas Season and the best of health and strength in the New
Year as our important work continues.
 
Statement from the National AIDS Commission regarding proper HIV/AIDS
Testing Procedures

16 January, 2006 - Belmopan
"The National AIDS Commission is requesting the attention and assistance
of all employers in a matter we consider to be urgent.

It is our understanding that several business entities are requiring HIV
testing and knowledge of the status of employees as part of their
employment practices.

The Commission advises everyone that in December, 2005 the Government of
Belize adopted both the National and Workplace HIV/AIDS Policies which
promote a human rights and responsibilities perspective regarding the
epidemic.

Under these Policies the right of an individual’s privacy is of great
importance and consistent with the Constitutional protection of human
rights and International Labour Organization codes of practice relating
to the protection of workers’ personal information.

These principles are fundamental to the prevention of stigma and
discrimination which often deter persons living with HIV&AIDS from
seeking critical services for fear they may be rejected by both family
members and employers.

In this regard the Policies do not support any form of HIV testing for
the purpose of recruitment or exclusion from employment or work
processes. HIV is not transmitted from person to person in the work
setting and poses no risk to either other members of staff or clientele
and therefore should not be considered an occupational hazard. Where
there may be accidental blood exposure, the use of universal precautions
is encouraged to handle such an incident.

We therefore advise that any practice of screening or requiring
knowledge of status is a violation of National Policy and the
Constitution of Belize.

The National AIDS Commission and its partners would be pleased to work
with organizations and businesses to establish proper programs and
guidelines to effectively address HIV/AIDS in particular settings, and
we welcome cooperation and collaboration in this process."
 
Ch 7:

The Face of HIV Stigma & Discrimination
The National Aids Commission wants to bring stigma and discrimination to an end and it needs your help. While we've all heard the figures of how many Belizeans are dying and how many are affected by HIV and Aids, even worse than the numbers is the way society treats those affected. A three-day consultation on a strategy to eliminate stigma and discrimination concluded today and we got a chance to see the face of discrimination, up close.

Keith Swift Reporting,
34-year-old Allen Garbutt is living with HIV. The disease is one thing, he accepts that. But for him, his real fight is against the stigma and discrimination he faces daily.

Allen Garbutt, Living With HIV
"I'm comfortable with it. I've accepted it which for me has been one of the biggest things to accomplish, to accept it. Its there and I have to deal with it and I can look at myself and laugh everyday. I am quite comfortable with it. I still get bad screwed up faces. I still at times get on the bus and people move from beside me but I just think its lack of information and there's a lot of ignorance still out there."

Dr. Rovem Deadad, Communications Consultant - PANCAP
"You don't want people to be ashamed of either testing to find out if they have HIV, or if they do have Aids, to be ashamed to seek treatment because that's what stigma does."

Dr. Roven Deadad is a communications consultant with CARICOM's PANCAP. This week he along with 40 journalists, counselors, and others discussed how to eliminate stigma and discrimination. He says the first step is to see HIV and Aids for what it is: a disease, not a curse.

Dr. Rovem Deadad,
"The media used to talk about this deadly disease, as if the moment you caught it, no one should even touch you, and it was a life sentence. Its not that and its certainly not that in this day and age. Its important to make HIV/Aids just another illness, a serious, dangerous illness yes and it should be prevented at all costs. But once a person has come down with it, that's an honorable citizen of a country and should be treated that way."

The National Aids Commission plans to leave this workshop with communication strategy on how to stay on message.

Ruth Jamarillo, National Aids Commission
"We have not come together to look together at what are our priority groups, to look at what is the message we're sending out there and what it is we are trying to achieve. This is a example of harmonization which is the buzz word for our strategic plan. We want all partners on board."

Dr. Rovem Deadad,
"Out of the planning that comes out of this particular program, the CARICOM PANCAP program that has funding from Global Fund will then actually come in and support the activities that we have developed here."

Two percent of the Belizean population has tested positive for HIV, but the unreported figure is believed to be far greater than that.
 
MOE, UNESCO, and EDC to HOLD ADVOCACY and LEADERSHIP RETREAT on
HIV/AIDS

26 January, 2006 - Belmopan
The top management and senior officers of the Ministry of Education will
be participating in a one day Advocacy and Leadership Retreat on
HIV/AIDS tomorrow, Friday, January 27, 2006 at the Radisson Fort George
Hotel from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

During a brief opening ceremony, remarks will be made by Professor
Michael Morrissey, Senior Education Consultant, United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Office for
the Caribbean, Ms. Connie Constantine, Senior Project Director,
Education Development Centre (EDC), U.S.A., Ms. Maud Hyde, Chief
Education Officer, and Hon. Francis Fonseca, Attorney General and
Minister of Education.

This will be followed by several panel presentations that will be
facilitated by representatives of the business sector, the Ministry of
Health, the Ministry of Education, UNICEF, the National AIDS Commission,
and BFLA. There will also be a Q & A session and in the afternoon, the
participants will engage in working groups.

The goal of the retreat is for participants to identify and commit to
implementing specific tasks that will strengthen the education sector's
response to HIV/AIDS. Tomorrow's retreat is a joint collaboration of
the Ministry of Education, UNESCO, and the EDC.
 
The following is an executive summary of the COHA Report: AIDS in Latin America . For the complete report, please click the link at the bottom of this page.

Faced with the looming threat of a merciless humanitarian crisis, Latin American governments must hack through an entangled web of patent laws, corporate loopholes, and misguided U.S. initiatives, before they can even begin to deliver life-saving drugs to a mounting number of AIDS victims in their countries. In the shadow of the more-publicized African crisis, the AIDS epidemic in Latin America has slowly infected the most vulnerable, poverty-stricken stratums of society, exacerbating the plight of an already economically handicapped region.

In 2005 alone, 1.8 million Latin Americans were newly infected by the disease, which claimed the lives of 200,000 victims that same year. In the Caribbean, where the AIDS epidemic ranks second only to that of Sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS claimed an estimated 24,000 victims in 2005, making the disease the leading cause of death among adults in the region, ages 15 to 44. As the relationship between AIDS and poverty is bidirectional, these alarming statistics attest to an ominous trend. Immediate action must be taken before the epidemic further devastates the fundamental fabric of Latin American societies.

As underdevelopment and debt tie the hands of Latin American governments, global neglect has further prevented a strong response to the region’s growing crisis. Meanwhile, through the White House’s good offices, pharmaceutical companies have been able to form de facto alliances within the World Trade Organization and the Food and Drug Administration with ease, while an aggressive public relations campaign is meant to drive home the thesis that pharmaceutical companies are being good world citizens by restraining obscenely high drug prices.

Confronted by an onslaught of increasing international pressure, some drug companies have taken piecemeal steps toward negotiating reduced prices with their leitmotif seemingly being let charity be more apparent than real. When reduced prices actually resulted from negotiations, the prices still often soared above those of generic competitors, and remained far out of reach for the average of 40% of Latin Americans living below the poverty line. In addition, in 2003, a year after the U.S. blocked a major 143-country agreement that would have allowed the world’s poorest countries to purchase discounted pharmaceuticals, the WTO added the ‘paragraph six’ waiver to the controversial Trade-Related Aspects of International Property Rights (TRIPS), which institutionalizes twenty-year patents on vital AIDS drugs. While the waiver was supposed to allow crisis-ridden countries that cannot manufacture drugs domestically, to import cheap alternatives, no country has yet been able to attain a license to import such reduced-price drugs due to the hopeless rigidity and complexity of the legislation. Such gnawing practical problems have led NGOs to call the arrangement “the present wrapped in red tape.”

Working for the Pharmaceutical Companies
As anticipated, CAFTA already is turning out to be a highly pliable mechanism for U.S. corporate interests, as demonstrated by the ever-increasing demands that the U.S. is imposing on Central American members in the ongoing trade bloc negotiations. U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman is attempting to push beyond the terms of previous intellectual property agreements to further extend the life of pharmaceutical patents, and it appears that he is succeeding. Guatemala, for example, has already agreed to repeal a law aimed at guaranteeing local access to crucial generic drugs, despite the social unrest that the issue has incited throughout the country.

In addition, while Bush’s highly-criticized President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) allocates approximately 50% of the plan’s budget to invest in antiretroviral drugs, it does so in the least effective manner. Under the leadership of Randall Tobias, former CEO and major stockholder of drug giant Eli Lilly, it should come as no surprise that Bush’s AIDS initiative purchases the majority of its drugs from high-priced pharmaceutical companies, instead of turning to significantly cheaper generic alternatives. The decision not to utilize generic drugs, which cost a fraction of the price, and could allow for much broader distribution, indicates a truly ill-conceived strategy, if the public good is meant to be the program’s top priority. Furthermore, the FDA has played a role in delaying the release of generic drugs that could be used for the initiative, by taking as long as eight months to approve drugs that potentially could have gained a positive nod within six weeks. PEPFAR also funds Bush-favored faith-based groups equipped with little or no health know how and espousing an often ill-suited abstinence and fidelity approach, thus siphoning financial resources from the urgently needed medical tactics in favor of a diamond-in-the-sky strategy. Adding salt to the wound, the White House has further compromised the ability of Latin American governments to cope with the AIDS crises by recently cutting overall development aid to the region by 28.5%, making 2007 the third consecutive year that significant aid was slashed and relocated to regions of greater “strategic” importance.

Despite growing concern over the issue, few changes have occurred on the AIDS drug scene, and Latin American nations basically have been left alone to navigate a tortuous system dominated by profit-motivated corporate influence and White House diktats. Furthermore, without a renewed international commitment to addressing the fundamental issues of human well-being and poverty, little hope remains for eradicating a disease that finds most of its victims among the ranks of the already suffering and deprived.
 
Ch 7:

Riding for HIV/Aids


If you're an early riser and want to personally contribute to this year's celebration of Women's Week, you can do so by joining the annual bike rally. The annual event is held to promote physical health and this year it will focus on riding for the cause of girls and women living with HIV and Aids. Director of the Women's Department Dr. Carol Fonseca says the event will be held to raise some funds.

Carol Fonseca, Dir. Women's Department
"The cause is for HIV/Aids for girls and we are asking that each participant donate a dollar and that money is going towards helping girls and women cope with HIV and Aids. The bike rally is a part of the activities for Women's Week and like I said its all about empowering our women to participate and to show their support for our own women who are suffering from HIV and Aids."

The rally starts on Western Avenue tomorrow morning at 5:30.
 
Clinical Management of HIV/AIDS Conference

16 March, 2006 - Belmopan
The Ministry of Health will be hosting a five (5) day conference on the
Clinical Management of HIV/AIDS to be held March 20-24, 2006 at the
Princess Hotel in Belize City.

Over 50 physicians and nurses representing both the public and private
sectors will participate in the workshop aimed at improving the
knowledge of Health Care Providers in the Clinical Management of
HIV/AIDS.

A team of five (5) facilitators led by Dr. Perry Gomez, a renowned
HIV/AIDS Specialist, will be covering several topics during the course
of the five days, including the following:

• Pathophysiology of HIV
• Diagnosis and Management of Asymptomatic HIV
• Confidentiality
• Dermatologic Manifestation
• Overview of Anti-Retrovirals
• Adherence
• Opportunistic Infections
• Stigma and Discrimination
• Diagnosis of HIV in the Newborn Period
• Post Exposure Prophylaxis

The facilitators are from Bahamas and include an Internist,
Pediatrician, a Person Living With HIV/AIDS and a Nurse. All have had
extensive experience working in this country and have achieved successes
responding to the epidemic.

The workshop is being held in collaboration with the Pan American Health
Organization/World Health Organization and the Global Fund
“Strengthening Belize’s Multi-Sectorial Response to HIV and AIDS”.
 
National AIDS Commission Clarifies HIV Testing Regulations

21 March, 2006 - Belmopan
"It has come to the attention of the National AIDS Commission that some
business entities and organizations are STILL requiring HIV testing and
knowledge of the status of employees or prospective employees.

In January of this year after the adoption of the National Policy on
HIV/AIDS and the Workplace Policy, both policies were brought to the
attention of employers with the specific request that they should
respect all persons' right to privacy regarding their HIV status.

We therefore find it necessary to reiterate that the Policies do not
support any form of HIV testing for the purpose of recruitment or
exclusion from employment or work processes.

Privacy and confidentiality are fundamental principles in the prevention
of stigma and discrimination, and it must be the goal of our entire
community to eliminate such discrimination if we are to be effective in
fighting HIV/AIDS.

Again we count on the cooperation of all employers and we remain
committed to working with all organizations and businesses to establish
effective guidelines and programs.

Please contact the Commission at No. 8 - 17th Street, Belize City or at
telephone numbers 223-7594(2) with any of your questions and concerns."
 
Ch 5:

AIDS initiatives address many facets of disease

After two decades of responding to the global pandemic of HIV and AIDS, experts have concluded that the response must stretch across all facets of the disease's impact, addressing treatment, prevention, and the social context. This week two separate training initiatives are taking place to advance that strategy. News five's Jacqueline Woods reports.

Herman Bain, Living With HIV
“It is not something that would just strike you down, kill you. It is something that you know what you can still live a little while, you can do some good, you can live a joyful and happy life still and you can still be loved and things like that.”

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Meet thirty six year old Herman Bain. For the past six years, he has been living with HIV. Bain has been managing the disease with medication, but he has also been struggling with another great battle ... his acceptance as a member of society.

Herman Bain
”I myself have been through situations where I was discriminated. Not only by outsiders, but my own family because they are not educated about this disease, they don’t know anything about it. And you know, it kind of hurt people especially if their own family is going to discriminate you.”

The lack of family and public support has had a negative impact on patient’s lives. Sometimes leading to depression, drugs and alcohol abuse and suicidal tendencies.

Herman Bain
”I have a couple friends that I am working with and for them it’s like they can’t work because they are HIV positive, they cannot even visit their homes because their families are afraid that if they know that this is my daughter, that I would put out of work because my friend won’t want to talk to me because my daughter has HIV and AIDS. It is very hard on them.”

There has been a countrywide effort for some time now to educate communities about HIV and AIDS and dispel the myths that have fueled the negative response. The work has not been easy. This past weekend the Dangriga HIV and AIDS Society’s billboard was vandalised. The initiative was a campaign to address the stigma and discrimination.

Dr. Paul Edwards, Epidemiologist, Ministry of Health
”But we need persons living with HIV/AIDS to be empowered for them to say, you know what you can say what you want. You can say what you want, but you know what, they have the medication out deh for me and they have other services. And you now what, to hell with you; I am going to access these things. I wah live longer, I noh care what you say about me. We’ve got to confront this thing head on.”

According to the Ministry of Health’s Epidemiologist Doctor Paul Edwards, the numbers of infections seem to have reached a plateau. But that does not mean we should become complacent.

Dr. Paul Edwards
“We still see approximately three hundred and thirty-six new HIV infections within the first nine months. That’s approximately a hundred and twelve per quarter. We anticipate four forty-eight, four-fifty. Last year it was four fifty-seven, right in the range of where it was, amidst the fact that we know that many more people now are accessing services and getting tested. So again, I talk about us being on that plateau in relation to new HIV infections and hopefully very soon in the next years we see those numbers going down.”

This week, health care providers and the police are meeting in workshops geared towards addressing critical issues like finding the best approach when working with young people and the clinical management of HIV and AIDS. The health conference is to assist health care providers like community nurses aides by providing them with the necessary information.

Dr. Paul Edwards
“It is certainly one of the important pieces of the very big puzzle. We talk about HIV prevention, we talk about care, we talk about treatment. And within that we talk about clinical management of HIV and another very critical component of that is the psycho-social emotional support, very critical. One part of the puzzle acting in isolation is not sufficient, it is certainly not. However, the responsibility of the ministry is one of treatment and care.”

Piecing together another part of the puzzle, Youth For the Future is working closely with community police officers to improve their ability to communicate effectively with young people and those persons who are infected or affected by the disease.

Douglas Hyde, Coordinator, Y.F.F.
”I mean the information that is passed on here through these trainings are very, very important and very unique in so many ways that these officers can take it back to the community and sharpen their skills that they already have.”

In the meantime, Bain says he remains committed to his cause and will continue to do his part to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS and try to build community support for patients like himself.

Herman Bain
”I decide to come forward because I believe that people need to know that it’s okay. I mean, with HIV and without HIV, people are suffering and you don’t have to have HIV for people to discriminate you. And I realize that as a young man that has grown up in the streets and drugs, I have been to prison many times, I haven’t done anything for my community and I want to give back to my community. So I say living with HIV and AIDS I say you know what, I should just talk about it. And it helps me to feel better about myself and that’s why I want to be open about it.”

Jacqueline Woods for News Five.

The clinical management Conference taking place at the Princess Hotel is being facilitated by health care providers from throughout the Caribbean. The conference is being held in collaboration with PAHO and the Global Fund. Meanwhile, Youth for the Future's workshop was made possible through funding provided by the Global Fund and YFF.
 
Y.W.C.A. promotes AIDS education in barber’s chair

If you've seen the movie or t.v. spinoff called Barbershop, you know that a lot more goes on in that environment than just haircuts. And that's exactly what leaders of the Y.W.C.A. are hoping as they work to make young people aware of the danger of AIDS. News Five's Kendra Griffith reports.

Kendra Griffith, Reporting
Today’s conference forms part of the activities for the Y’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations ... it’s also an extension of an on-going social initiative.

Sonia Linares, Executive Dir, Y.W.C.A.
“If you can recall, we opened what we call Bella’s Salon, part of the health programme where the cosmetology programme opened a new area, improved the salon services where we encouraged people to come in and they were also trained in HIV/AIDS and so we thought that it’s a good way of promoting the whole HIV/AIDS education and for part of the 50th anniversary we decided to work with the barbershops, and we selected eight barbershops.”

For the next two days, fifteen barbers from eight shops will be trained in topics such as HIV, proper condom use, and small business management. At the end of the course, educational materials will be displayed in each of the shops to encourage dialogue.

Beth Preston, HIV Coordinator, Y.W.C.A.
“We will be setting up a resource corner in each barbershop where people can come and get information about HIV and AIDS, and also the barbers will have condoms available, for clients to come in and take and also to talk because the big thing is that in barbershops people like to talk, people go from maybe they are going to talk about politics or talk about whatever, so why not have it to talk about HIV and AIDS and how you can protect yourself.”

While protecting oneself is a must in preventing the spread of HIV, as with most faith-based organisations, condom use is a touchy subject.

Beth Preston
“First and foremost, the Y.W.C.A. does promote abstinence as the only one hundred percent safe way of being HIV/AIDS free, so that’s first and foremost. We do, however, know that realistically that’s not always the case that people are going to be sexually active, so we are doing what we can to help by helping to provide condoms.”

Controversy or no controversy, for barbers Fareed Ahmad and Ryan Reyes, the project is a positive development and they welcome the opportunity to pass on the knowledge that they have acquired.

Fareed Ahmad, The Real Barbershop
“It’s a very good idea. There’s a lot of information that people out there as much as people hear about AIDS everyday, they don’t know a lot or little of information that are key. I myself have heard a lot about AIDS, but coming hear I have learnt a lot, a lot more, like the ease of transmission, and I think that these information that we are getting should be also going to the public and that’s what we’re arranging here.”

Ryan Reyes, Slip and Slide Barbershop
“We have a lot of young people that come to the shop, so whenever they come, they’ll see the pamphlets and the posters in the shop. If they ask any questions, well I will try to answer them in a professional way, try to share the messages about AIDS with them.”

But sharing a message with a willing subject is easy; how would the barbers handle someone who’s not so keen on the idea?

Kendra Griffith
“What would you do say for instance you buck up on somebody who’s like, man I noh want listen to this, I noh come to the barbershop fi mek nobody give me no lecture pan HIV/AIDS, all I want dah fi you just cut my hair. What then?”

Ryan Reyes
“I would tell them, it’s for your own good, if you don’t want to listen, you’re on your own, but if you want to listen to me I will tell you and I will try to share the message, but if you don’t want to I can’t force you to listen.”

Fareed Ahmad
“If you don’t want to listen, like my friend over here said, you are at a loss. Try to protect yourself, use a condom or abstain completely, but be real, there’s a disease out here and it’s here for all of us, if you don’t want look out. So watch out, be aware, use a condom.”

But as the Y tries to make Belizeans face the reality of AIDS, the organisation has to deal with its own financial reality. According to Executive Director Sonia Linares, it costs the Y.W.C.A. between twenty and twenty-five thousand dollars a month to run their various programmes. Money that lately has been in short supply.

Sonia Linares
“We always say that God has been there with us, because at the end of the month we don’t know where monies would come from, but it appears. We have been working on a shoestring budget, but with the fees collected from our programmes and with generous business people, and with membership of the Y—we have friends from New York and L.A. and Miami, Atlanta, who would always assist us, so that is how we have been managing so far, and I cannot leave without mentioning the government of Belize, they came in when we were desperate, to assist us. So we are here and we will continue to be here because we feel like the work that we are doing is very important to the community.”

Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.
 
National AIDS Commission holds Workshop on Policies

04 April, 2006 - Belmopan
On Wednesday, April 5th the National AIDS Commission will conduct a
Workshop on the National Policy on HIV/AIDS and the Workplace Policy at
the Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel.

The session will target managers and human resource personnel of both
the public and private sectors as well as NGOs. Its purpose and
objective are to build ownership in both Policies among top executives
and to encourage business entities and organizations to recognize the
vital role played by employers, employees and Government in fighting
HIV/AIDS.

It is expected that the 50 participants will also begin the process of
formulating HIV/AIDS policies within their own workplaces for
prevention, care and support, as well as the reduction of stigma and
discrimination.

The program is part of the efforts of the National AIDS Commission to
build national capacity in the fight against HIV/AIDS with sponsorship
from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Facilitators for the program Hotel will be Ms. Joan Burke, Mrs. Kathy
Esquivel, Mr. Rodel Beltran Perera, Ms. Sheila Middleton, Ms. Ruth
Jaramillo and Ambassador Dolores Balderamos García.
 
Ch 5:

AIDS seminar focuses on workplace issues
With estimates of the number of Belizeans infected with the HIV virus ranging from six thousand on up, it is no longer possible for the epidemic to be ignored by any sector of society. And with those most affected falling into the fifteen to forty-nine age group, the impact of AIDS is being increasingly felt in the nation's labour force. News Five's Kendra Griffith reports on efforts to deal with several facets of a growing problem.

Kendra Griffith, Reporting
The fifty men and women gathered today at the Biltmore Plaza represent the management of a wide cross section of companies, unions, and organisations. They were brought together by the National AIDS Commission, which is trying to enlist employers in the fight against HIV/AIDS, particularly stigma and discrimination on the job.

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Chairperson, National AIDS Commission
“That when participants leave here today they won’t just go home and say, well that was a nice day, but they will actually do something about it in their workplaces, because HIV/AIDS is with us and it will be with us for quite a while to come we know and the efforts have to continue apace.”

And those efforts are now focussed on the implementation of workplace policies.

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia
”A policy for a workplace can be as simply as two sentences or three sentences or a paragraph, it doesn’t have to be a fifty page document. Once you say: we support persons living with HIV, we want to be a part of prevention efforts, we want to reduce stigma and discrimination, and we want to do our part, because as Belizeans we are all in this boat together.”

One company that is taking a proactive approach to the HIV situation is Belize Electricity Limited. The utility has drafted and will soon enact guidelines to add to its existing safety and human resource policies, thereby protecting the company and its two hundred and seventy-eight employees.

Philip Waight, Safety and Training Engineer, BEL
“As you look at it right now, the statistics are quite alarming and we figure that before it gets out of control, there’s need for us to work on a prevention method. And we figure that it could be quite costly if one does not work to minimise or reduce the possibility of HIV in the workplace in general.”

“I think that the whole idea of a policy and a programme, getting a policy draft and put it in place and get a programme in place and also get a whole safety aspect, I must emphasise the whole safety aspect of it, you do well for both the company and the employees, so it’s a win-win situation that you get involved in.”

Helping companies get on board with the idea of a specific HIV/AIDS policy is the International Labour Organisation. According to the I.L.O.’s National Project Coordinator in Belize, Sheila Middleton, the size of the company or organisation should not be a deterrent.

Sheila Middleton, National Project Coordinator, ILO
“We want to have something in place if we are to encounter somebody in the workplace that is HIV positive that there is a support system and a way that we will deal with them, that we will not discriminate, we will not fire them because of their status, because they are healthy people and they can work and contribute to society.”

“It’s not only to have a workplace policy, but also to have a workplace education programme for the employees, because those are the two things that are happening at the same time with the companies that we are working. They are expected to do a workplace policy, as well as have a workplace education programme whereby the employees are educated about HIV and AIDS.”

In the meantime, those involved in the fight are hopeful of what the future will bring

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia
“We have a long way to go, but I do believe that what we are seeing happening with all the various agencies on board that we are very much in the right direction right now.”

Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.

According to Middleton, the I.L.O. is currently working with eighteen companies, nine of which have drafted workplace policies.
 
Ch 5:

AIDS education targets media

Last week it was management and workplace policies ... and in its continuing efforts to reduce both the transmission and stigma and of AIDS, this week the National AIDS Commission brought in a key player: the media. At a one-day seminar at the Radisson, TV, radio, and newspaper journalists were today briefed on current communication strategies in place and discussed ways in which they can help spread the message on HIV. According to communication consultant and workshop facilitator, Dr. Rovin Deodat, the media has a vital role to play in fostering social change.

Dr. Rovin Deodat, Communication Consultant
“The media actually is the intermediary between information. Good information, sometimes life saving information, and the broader public out there. The radio, the newspaper, the television screens; they all should, and very often they do carry information that will cause people to be able to think about better ways of living in terms of healthy living, better way of doing things. I know often when we think of media we think of entertainment only, but they do have the other responsibility of information and education as well.”

“We looked at various ways in which the messages or communication products can be delivered to the public. And then we had a useful group session where participants actually sat down, took priority areas and priority target groups in the communication strategies and started to work on specific programme ideas for radio, for television, for newspaper and also starting to note the kind of resources and the kind of skills they would require to work properly in these areas.”

And now that the priority areas and strategies have been discussed, both Dr. Deodat and the programmes and communications officer at the National AIDS Commission, Gabriel Carrillo, hope that the dialogue will not end with today's seminar, but that both parties will commit to a continuous and productive relationship.

Dr. Rovin Deodat
“My hope is this is the start of a process between the media communication fraternity in Belize with N.A.C. A relationship that will blossom into partnership, where both sides will be working on the same goals: that is to lessen and hopefully eliminate HIV/AIDS in Belize.”

Gabriel Carillo, Programs and Communication Officer, N.A.C.
“We knew that the media was the key conduit for information dissemination in Belize and so we had to have this workshop today to have you all dialogue as to what you are able to do and what you can commit yourselves in doing to assist Belize in the fight against HIV and AIDS.”
 
Aunt Grace on AIDS

Protect Yourself from the Killa Virus

Everyone has a story. It’s not how we tell it; it’s how we live it.
In a research I conducted, I found out that forty five percent of our women who are sexually active are not using condoms. This is alarming since our girls are getting pregnant at an early age.

Not protecting ourselves is one of the reasons why the HIV/AIDS virus is so rampant in our country.

Women, if you are sexual active, let no one stop you from using a condom at all times. The only person you could have sex with and not use a condom is your husband or one who will not cheat on you as a mate. But please know that not using a condom will lead to pregnancy.

Men, let no woman stop you from using condoms. The only person you could have sex with without a condom is your wife or your mate who values life and will not cheat on you. And once again, know that not using a condom will lead to pregnancy.

In order to stop the spread of the AIDS virus we as adults must be responsible at all times. Remember that HIV/AIDS kills, and for many the virus is a death sentence. Moreover, it will hurt your children and members of your family too.

When you are ready to have your children make sure you and your mate are honest with each other and don’t cheat on each other. We can slow down and even stop the AIDS virus, if we learn how important it is to protect ourselves and our families.

One moment of sexual pleasure is not more important than your life. Some men don’t like to use condoms because it can be very uncomfortable, but we must protect ourselves from the Killa Virus. We are dying too fast.

To all our people who are living with the AIDS virus, believe me when I say we share your pain, because it can happen to anyone. No one is immune to HIV/AIDS.

But we do have a few people living with the AIDS virus who have become evil. They have a bad mind and are infecting other innocent people.

Living with the virus does not mean that your soul is infected with the virus. But the moment you get evil and bad minded, and begin to infect innocent people, you have given your soul to the devil because infecting people wishfully is like murdering them.

It makes no sense to lose your life and your soul together. With proper medication you can live long even though you may be infected with the virus. Also you have to create a positive mind, eat the right foods and work along with your doctor. Make sure your heart is clean, your mind is clear, because you don’t want to wake up in hell when you die. You want to wake up with Jesus holding your hands.

Be spiritually wise and don’t commit murder by infecting innocent people. Remember we all come from the spiritual world and we all have to go back where we came from. For dying is just another part of life and it all depends on how we live our life. Keep the faith and don’t give up. The right thing to do is draw close to Jesus.
 
Ch 5:

Behaviour strategy launched in fight against HIV
All the experts agree that positive behaviour change is priority one in fighting the spread of HIV infection. Here at home, statistics show that the population most affected by the deadly disease is in fact the country's workforce. With that in mind, since last May the International Labour Organization and the Ministry of Labour have been brainstorming for ideas to promote healthier lifestyles in Belize. Today the final document was presented in Belize City ... and according to National Project Coordinator Sheila Middleton, the community participation is encouraging.

Sheila Middleton, National Project Coordinator, I.L.O.
“We are working with eighteen companies under the utilities, agriculture, sanitation, banking sector so we’ve gotten very good response from these companies. What we have done is that we’ve trained peer educators in each of these companies so they will be able to go back to their workplace and teach their co-workers about HIV and AIDS. What we did, you will notice that the strategy is developed into four key areas, basic information about HIV AIDS, developing a workplace policy, health care, seeking behaviour. So it has four different components and under these four components information will be transmitted to the general workforce.”

“It does not only involve posters or doing ads on the radio, but also the workplace. The B.C.C. workplace programme involves a lot more, for example, peer education and the whole integrating HIV/AIDS into whatever activities the company has. For example in some of the companies that we are working with they’ve incorporated HIV into their family day, their newsletter, their payslips, giving messages about HIV/AIDS. So it’s much more than just having a poster out or a radio ad or a TV ad, it involves a lot more.”

Companies interested in participating in the I.L.O. workplace education programme can visit Middleton at number five Albert Street West.
 
Ch 5:

U.N. officials establish HIV support network in Belize

Today, the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition met with their counterparts in Belize to establish a support network for persons infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. According to Laison officer of the United Nations Population Fund Jewel Quallo Rosberg, the community based initiative is a welcomed effort.

Jewel Quallo Rosberg, U.N.F.P.A., Laison officer, Belize
“The whole idea is to give a voice to these groups, which we felt was a gap, so that they can speak out in defence of themselves and using a human rights based approach. The question then is, what are the rights of individuals regardless of the group that they find themselves in? And the extent to which those groups need to be handled or addressed, or have concerns and issues, and also the need for support services.”

Dr. Robert Carr, Co–Chair, C.V.C.
“One very important thing that has been achieved is that groups have begun to realize that they are not alone. They begun to realize that they are partners working on similar issues at the national level and also begun to realize that they are groups working at the regional level. For example, if we take the instance of inner-city youth, they are groups working at the community level with inner-city youth throughout the Caribbean. French, Dutch, Spanish, English and Creole speaking but very often they work in isolation, so they have to reinvent the wheel every time. There is no documentation and there is no opportunity to share information, so what this project does is it allows groups like that to learn about each other and to share and to strengthen their own programming at home base on the dialogue and the conversations they are able to have with others around the Caribbean who are doing similar work.”

“What this coalition is able to do is to put on the table that there are some groups whom society feels it’s appropriate to discriminate against or whom society feels is acceptable to discriminate against and very often people working with these groups are fragmented. They don’t realize that they share a common struggle that they are in fact working with groups who are marginalized from the society. One of the more powerful things that we are able to do at the national level, is to put on the table, listen we are struggling with a serious dynamic here, and how can we learn form each other and support each other.”

Today's session was funded by United Nations Population Fund.
 
Ch 5:

B.D.F. personnel receive AIDS education

This week approximately twenty soldiers from the Belize Defence Force are participating in an HIV/AIDS workshop at Price Barracks. But it's not your run of the mill education session; instead the soldiers are putting their heads together to come up with a plan to strengthen their prevention effort and find ways of mitigating the effects of the disease on the military. The sessions are being facilitated by Belize's Martha Carrillo and Major Cheryl Brown of the U.S. military's Centre for Disaster and Humanitarian Medicine. Both say that coming together is key in combating HIV.

Martha Carrillo, Workshop Facilitator
“We are engaging in a process of strategic planning for the Belize Defence Force, specifically for HIV/AIDS. We know that any response to HIV/AIDS needs to be strategic. We need to be able to come together as a force and recognise what are some of the needs within the force, what is really the situation of HIV within the force and then be able to come up with goals, specific goals and priority areas that we want to focus on. And so the opportunity to bring together different members of the Belize Defence Force from different ranks provides a consultative process as well as a working session for the development of a specific strategic plan for the Belize Defence Force.”

Maj. (Ret.) Cheryl Brown, Programme Mgr., CDHAM
“This disease can destroy the military which also sets other countries up for invasion or terrorist activities. And the United States got very involved because of that, and because AIDS is also a global issue, it’s an epidemic. It’s at epidemic proportions now, so we have to help each other in order to make this process or to get rid of this disease and that’s why we are so involved with it.”

The workshop runs through June thirtieth.
 
Ch 5: (cont)

... but mandatory testing will stay

But while the B.D.F. is finding a way to deal with the invasion of HIV into its ranks, it is at the same time trying to deal with its controversial practice of mandatory HIV testing. In December a National Policy on HIV was proposed, which prohibits mandatory testing of employees. But according to Force Medical Officer, Lt. Col. Irvin Gabourel, while the B.D.F. recognises what the National AIDS Commission is trying to do, it also has a duty to protect the nation.

Lt. Col Irvin Gabourel
“The primary goal of the B.D.F. is to defend the country of Belize, its borders and we also provide support to the police force and we want to be doing this in the most healthiest situation possible. When you have somebody with HIV, their immune system is not integral. They could go from being HIV positive to full-blown AIDS at any given time. So if you submit this individual to very rigorous training, again their immune system will deteriorate and they will become full-blown AIDS. So yes, we have to strike a balance there. Don’t ask me where that is, but we are working at it.”

The B.D.F. continues to require prospective soldiers to undergo mandatory HIV testing and anyone who tests positive will not be inducted. Those already in the B.D.F. who test positive are given medical treatment and family support.
 
Ch 5:

AIDS commission chair says B.D.F. HIV testing is wrong

The National AIDS Commission has fired off a press release responding to remarks made on Tuesday's newscast by B.D.F. Medical Officer Doctor Irvin Gabourel defending the practice of mandatory HIV testing of recruits. According to N.A.C. chair, Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, the National AIDS Policy specifies that mandatory testing should not be used as a basis for excluding persons from working--and that includes employment in the B.D.F. Balderamos-Garcia contends that just because someone is HIV positive, it doesn't mean he or she can't do the job.

Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Chair, National AIDS Commission
“This is actually the policy of the land, both the workplace and the National HIV/AIDS policies.”

Kendra Griffith, Reporting
“Has it been passed into law?”

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia
“It hasn’t been passed into law, but a policy leads to the next steps of making the amendments and adjustments to the legislation. We have to start with the policy framework and if as a country we have a policy of not forcing testing or not having mandatory testing, then we have to call on all partners to abide. And this is why we felt it necessary, not to be quarrelsome or argumentative or anything, but we felt that if there is one policy in the country, we have to promote that policy without exception. Because if the B.D.F. can say, well you know because our soldiers have to be fit and they have to do rigorous exercise we don’t want anybody with HIV within in the force, and so you screen people out. Then the coast guard might come up and say we can do that or some other agency or non-governmental organisation might jump up and say, if the B.D.F. can do it, so can we."

“I would never be here saying that organisations that require high physical activity don’t have the responsibility to carry out medical tests. I think it would be irresponsible of the National AIDS Commission to ever suggest that. Naturally there has to be proper medical tests for various kinds of employment. I mean everybody, women have to do our pap smear, we have to do our breast exam, and men have to do their P.S.A. test for prostate cancer. Screening does need to take place to maintain people’s good health, but the point we want to make, focussing specifically on HIV and AIDS, is that in and of itself, the HIV status in and of itself should not be the reason to screen somebody out of an employment.”

We are not sure exactly where this controversy is headed but as it stands the B.D.F. continues to screen for HIV as well as a number of other medical conditions that it believes render an applicant unfit for the rigorous requirements of military service.
 
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