… And Belize and Stann Creek districts are worst affected
The need to close the gap in services was bolstered by the findings of a situational analysis of the Belize and Stann Creek districts that are the most affected by the disease. The study was commissioned by Hand in Hand Ministries and UNICEF and undertaken by Adele Catzim-Sanchez. And while Hand in Hand is one of the few organisations which work with children and families affected by HIV… there is a need for other sectors to get involved.
Dr. Peter Allen, C.E.O., Ministry of Health
“There is a paradox here, our response must be immediate and yet it must be thoughtful, strategically planned, coordinated and flexible enough to respond to the evolving nature of the threat. The Ministry of Health is willing to be guided by our technical advisors, but we are impatient for national implementation of the strategies needed to defend our children. The perfect storm of challenges will not wait for the perfect plan of action to address them. The lives, well being and happiness of our children are at stake and procrastination is not an option.”
Rana Flowers
“Health is doing it alone in relation to children and they need a lot of support. The system ministries, a number of them are represented at the C.E.O. level here and that’s a very important sign. They have to kick in, they have to acknowledge that families living with HIV, their social economic status always worsens; their nutrition in the home is very poor, their capacity to get food, pay for food and particularly now with the cost of food going up, is extremely limited. We know that they are not getting psychosocial support, we know that the children are dropping out of school, we know that the kids are becoming the caregivers and just this whole emotional and psychological support that’s needed.”
An interesting and alarming finding of the study is the number of adolescents who are born with HIV, but show no symptoms. According to Flowers, it’s a very interesting and dangerous phenomenon which could impact the spread of the disease as the teens are becoming sexually active and are not aware of their status. Of course, a major detriment in treating these cases lies in the realities of stigma and discrimination. The technical meeting is a joint effort between Hand in Hand Ministries, UNICEF, and the ministries of Human Development and Health.
