Latest gift from Taiwan: Condoms
It’s a grim statistic we have had to report for far too long…that is a rising rate of HIV infection, with almost one new case diagnosed each day. But tonight there is some good news to report as local experts contend that there is measured progress in the arena of awareness–usually seen as a precursor to behavioral change. With that backdrop, today it was a grateful Government of Belize that accepted an unusual donation from the Ministry of Health of Taiwan…one hundred thousand condoms. Executive chairperson of the National AIDS Commission, Ambassador Dolores Balderamos Garcia, accepted the donation from Taiwan’s Ambassador to Belize, Charles Tsai. All sides agree: the push must be for prevention.
Charles Tsai, Taiwanese Ambassador to Belize
“AIDS is not a problem of single countries, it’s a worldwide problem and AIDS prevention always, then cure. It’s impossible to cure for AIDS but I think you can prevent, it’s always better. Belize and Taiwan we keep close relations and we wish we can share some experience and gain assistance to take care of the care, the health of the Belizean people to assist them to have AIDS prevention.”
Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Special Envoy to National AIDS Commission
“You will not be seeing any indiscriminate distribution of condoms. These are donation. They will not be sold and they will be distributed mainly to the Ministry of Health’s voluntary counseling and testing centres. Also to our NGO partners and they will be used as a part of our national response and national effort; of course, stressing prevention is many sided and that we will be keeping up preaching abstinence to young people, being faithful to your partner, reducing the number of sexual partners and of course in terms of our education and making prevention available, then this is where the donation of the 100,000 condoms comes in.”
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
“I know that one of the things that surprised me, were all the myths surrounding condom use¼about it not fitting and at the risk of sounding crass, you can’t eat a sweet with the wrapper on and this sort of thing. What are we doing as far as educating Belizeans about condom use and making sure all the myths and legends that are out there are properly dispelled?”
Dolores Balderamos Garcia
“This is where our counseling and testing comes in and it is not only the ministry of Health responsible for that but all the various agencies. As you know, the NGO, the Alliance against AIDS is extremely active in education, the Belize Family Life Association but this is all part of, as you say, about education because everyone should know and who in Belize doesn’t know this by now probably has been sleeping for a long time that prevention is absolutely necessary. And the means of prevention is condom use for sexual activity or safe sex. We can’t be squeamish about it in any way, we must make sure the information gets out there.”
Fourteen thousand of the total one hundred thousand condoms were handed over this morning with the rest of the donation due to arrive in Belize within the next two months.
