And while it’s not the number one cause of death in Belize, the fight against the deadly scourge of H.I.V. is a priority for local health officials. On the occasion of National H.I.V. Testing Day last week, almost eight hundred Belizeans from across the country got tested. Today Director of the National AIDS Programme, Dr. […]
Cabinet has approved an arrangement to take over a two-thirds stake in Universal Health Services. The financially troubled private hospital, heavily indebted to the Belize Bank and Development Finance Corporation, was built largely in anticipation of the expected business to be generated from Government’s National Health Insurance programme. When that overly ambitious initiative was drastically […]
It has become a clich
Present for this morning’s launch of the B.D.F. initiative was Director of the National AIDS Programme Dr. Marvin Manzanero. In his presentation Manzanero reported that up to September 2006, there were three hundred and twenty-three new HIV infections and they’ve projected that by the end of the year that number will rise to four hundred […]
The numbers are in from Friday’s National HIV Testing Day and the news is good. According to Director of the National AIDS Programme, Dr. Marvin Manzanero, over eight hundred people came out to be tested last week. Belize City saw the greatest participation with three hundred, followed by Orange Walk with one hundred and fifty. […]
According to global statistics, there are forty million people living with HIV and AIDS. Nationally, the numbers suggest that despite aggressive awareness and education campaigns, the rate of infections has remained constant. On the occasion of World AIDS Day, today local officials took their fight to save lives to the streets. News Five’s Jacqueline Godwin […]
While today was dominated by HIV/AIDS awareness, tomorrow attention will turn to Belize’s deadliest killer: cardiovascular conditions. In an attempt to promote better quality of life, Dr. Curtis Samuels is spearheading the efforts of the Belize Heart Foundation Limited under the theme “Healthy Hearts, Better Lives”. At dawn on Saturday, the foundation will officially launch […]
In several stories over the last month we’ve followed Health Department officials as they inspected, shut down, re-inspected and subsequently allowed the re-opening of a Belize City bakery. Well, this week the inspectors were at it again, this time visiting Belize’s largest hotel. What News Five’s Janelle Chanona discovered was that, one: not all businesses […]
With some four thousand Belizeans living with HIV and at least one new infection reported daily it’s more than clear that dealing with the AIDS pandemic should be one of the nation’s highest priorities. Today the Ministry of Health launched a campaign to have as many people as possible learn their HIV status. News Five’s […]
The battle against the virus that causes AIDS is being fought on many fronts including the development of vaccines, the search for a cure, treatments, campaigns to end stigma and discrimination … and of course efforts to change risky behaviour. Today I observed some new ways to improve the odds in favor of safer sex. […]
Two weeks ago News Five dropped a bombshell when we followed the health inspector into a well known Belize City bakery and found an assortment of code violations that destroyed even the heartiest of appetites. Today, Janelle Chanona returned to the scene of the crime … and is happy to report that some positive changes […]
As access to medicine and treatment options increase, experts leading the fight against HIV and AIDS are working hard to simultaneously promote prevention measures to the general public. According to Rodel Beltran Perrera, Executive Director of Alliance Against AIDS, while Belize must begin to implement social support systems for persons living with the deadly disease, […]
Those public education campaigns about HIV and AIDS that we referred to earlier in the newscast often include the fact that many of the people living with the deadly disease are the working class. But tonight we investigate how the pandemic is affecting some of our most vulnerable citizens: our children. Rana Flowers, Unicef Country […]
David Price, Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the Development Finance Corporation, was flown out to Cuba for medical care yesterday afternoon after his condition worsened over the weekend. Reports indicate that the trip went well for Price, who was transferred smoothly to a Havana hospital following arrangements coordinated by the Cuban embassy in […]
They say that knowledge is power … and San Ignacio’s Cornerstone Foundation is doing its part to make sure that Belizeans stay informed on what’s happening with HIV/AIDS. The foundation has begun production of a magazine entitled AIDS Link. It features local, regional, and world news on HIV; info on what organisations are doing around […]
It may not be a new story but it sure is an important one. Diabetes continues to kill and restrict the lifestyles of thousands of Belizeans. Today was set aside to learn more and hopefully bring down the numbers. Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting In a recent survey by the Pan American Health Organization, seventeen percent of […]
On Wednesday, we broadcast the deplorable state of one Belize City bakery after the business was shut down by health officials because inspectors found evidence of rat and roach infestation as well as raw sewage on the property. But as News Five’s Janelle Chanona reports tonight, unsanitary conditions are plaguing most of the old capital. […]
If one were asked to identify the biggest change in the life of Belizean city and town dwellers over the last quarter century, a strong candidate would be the overwhelming takeover of the nation’s grocery and fast food establishments by immigrants from the People’s Republic of China. And as the Chinese retail presence has grown, […]
In years gone by youngsters who fell behind in school were officially classified as “slow learners.” A less sensitive term often applied in Belize was “duncey.” But doctors and educators worldwide have learned that the roots of childhood learning problems go much deeper than simple labels. News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports. Francisca Tzalam Ch?oc, Toledo, […]
This evening, the Ministry of Health took delivery of five fully equipped ambulances. The patient transportation vehicles were purchased under the Health Sector Reform Project through loan funds from the Inter-American Development Bank. According to Minister of Health, Joe Coye, the ambulances will be distributed to the northern, southern and western regional hospitals as well […]
They are among the busiest professionals in the country but for two days, doctors and nurses from across the nation are in the old capital as part of the twenty-fourth Belize Medical and Dental Association Congress. News Five’s Jacqueline Godwin reports on this year’s talking points. Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting Every year physicians and dentists meet […]
Earlier in this newscast, we reported on the efforts of the Belize Medical and Dental Association to improve service to the public. This week, another similar organization is marking an important milestone as it strives to create public interest in its profession. News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports on the life of the pharmacist. Adelita Ghazy, […]
What do a dreaded disease and the post office have in common? Normally, not very much, but today the two ran into each other at the Belize City House of Culture. The result, reports News Five’s Kendra Griffith, could be far reaching. Kendra Griffith, Reporting For the over one million women worldwide who were diagnosed […]
Tonight a mother of two is asking the public’s assistance to access badly needed but costly treatment abroad. Thirty-eight year old Chriselda Ramirez was diagnosed with cervical cancer two months ago and is urgently in need of both chemo and radiation therapy, which are unavailable in Belize. Ramirez, who was released from the K.H.M.H. on […]
We often run stories on new medical advances in Belize, usually involving the acquisition of high-tech equipment. But what we sometimes fail to realise is that without the necessary human element, those machines remain useless. Today the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital finally put together the right combination. Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting Today, this woman was just […]
