Delegation leaves for AIDS summit

A six member team left the country this afternoon for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS which opens on Monday in New York. The delegation is being lead by Rodel Beltran Perera, Executive Director of the Alliance Against AIDS. Perera says that they are attending the meeting to raise awareness as well as funds to combat this disease, which, last week alone, claimed the lives of three more Belizeans.

Rodel Beltran Perera, Executive Director, A.A.A.

“It’s a global meeting. It’s a meeting of leaders from around the world as well as persons that are living with the virus and people that are dying from the disease and non-governmental agencies that are involved in this kind of work.”

Jose Sanchez

“How important is this meeting?”

Rodel Beltran Perera

“It is of extreme importance. The situation of HIV/AIDS in Belize is not getting better, it’s getting worse. I just saw a recent report of the Caribbean being the second area in the world next to Sub-Saharan Africa, with the second highest rate of infection. We come under the Caribbean, but also of importance is that we are a part of Central America, and in Central America, we’re the first country in this region with the highest rate of infection. This is not a good picture. We are only two hundred and fifty thousand people. And who is mostly affected? Young people between the ages of fifteen and forty-four. We’re not doing well and people need to stand up and listen. With that we took this request to Continental Airlines, who have been very helpful in allowing us to go to this UNGASS special session where we’ll be able to take this, our concern, to the global community about our situation in this country, that it’s not stopping it, it’s on the increase on a daily basis.”

This Sunday Prime Minister Said Musa will be leaving for New York. He is expected to deliver an address to the special session on Wednesday.