Today the National AIDS Commission held a public forum to discuss the challenges facing victims of HIV and AIDS, including their lack of access to proper health care. The speakers addressed issues like stigma and sexual abuse and ways to make life better for those who are HIV positive or have full blown AIDS. We asked the Director of Health Services Dr. Marvin Manzanero to tell us more about the forum, and how stakeholders will continue the fight against stigma and sickness...
Martin Manzanero, Director of Health Services at the Ministry of Health
"The topic of discussion centers around HIV and any barriers to the HIV health care system and how it's attached, but there's also other aspects of the HIV that I think we are trying to address in terms of barriers. Legal aspects, human rights, social aspects, cultural, educational, religious, all of those we're trying to address. I think, you know of the ruling of section 53 there was, I think, some miscommunication, misinformation as to what that really meant, and what it meant for the National HIV response, so I think we're just trying to dissipate those misconceptions around that subject."
"Well, I think since 2012, when we started realizing that we don't have a generalized epidemic, it's a concentrated epidemic, one of the things we started to do is go in search of men, proactively. Men in general, we didn't ask for any specifics in terms of their sexual behavior. One of the other aspects we are not looking at is trying to see if we could expand the testing services. I know the VCT site in Belize City is looking at the possibility of doing testing beyond the 8-5 hours, possibly going up to 9 o'clock. There's been outreach, the HIV program has gone out to do testing where there's parties that are exclusively for men, gay parties. I think we've taken a more proactive approach to that. We're trying to see if we can place everybody on treatment, as long as you're HIV positive place them on treatment regardless of CB4. Providing condoms at all different levels, female condoms, male condoms, I think it's trying to take a more proactive stance, understanding where the epidemic is, and knowing where we have to go."
And while there is still a long way to go to eliminate stigma and misinformation about HIV/AIDS and other STDs, for HIV awareness lobbyists, the future does hold some promise. In a 2012 study conducted by UNAIDS in the Caribbean, 75% of Belizeans polled said that they believed sexual education should be taught as early as primary school. 80% said that secondary students should have access to condoms and contraceptives.
Email
Print