[e-drug] Tiny Belize lags behind in AIDS care, attention

[rastern@racsa.co.cr]

E-drug: Tiny Belize lags behind in AIDS care, attention
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7 May, 2001

Tiny  Belize lags behind in AIDS care, attention

By Richard Stern

An error early in April in a hospital  Belize City, Belize resulted in 
three people being exposed to the AIDS contaminated blood and sparked the 
country's first public outcry  related to the AIDS epidemic.  Unscreened 
emergency blood  transfusions  given to three individuals  were later found 
to contain the HIV virus.

One of the world's smallest nations and known for its coral reefs and cays, 
Belize shares borders with Guatemala and Mexico. Its population is just 
over 250,000.

Activists from the non-governmental organization Alliance Against AIDS 
(AAA) held Belize's first public AIDS demonstration April 24th outside of 
the country's  largest public hospital complex.  AAA Director Rodel Beltran 
called on Belize's government to implement programs that would guarantee a 
safe blood supply as well as ending discrimination against those Belizeans 
who already live with HIV/AIDS.

"We do not have proper policies in any of the Medical institutions at 
all...there is no leglislation protecting the rights of People Living with 
HIV and AIDS, and there is no anti-retroviral treatment at all.  Even 
medications for opportunistic infections are sometimes lacking," said 
Beltran adding that "what we want to do is call public attention to these 
issues...only we as individual Belizean men, women, parents and teachers 
can do this." In total, over 50 people participated in the activity and 
Belizean television stations gave it extensive coverage.

Two children and a 32 year old women who underwent emergency surgical 
procedures at the government run Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital on the 
weekend of April 4th received blood transfusions  which were later found to 
contain the AIDS virus. Two of the three, the woman and a two month old 
baby, have died of complications resulting from their surgical procedures.

The parents of baby Andy Myers Jr. still blame the hospital for their son's 
death. Says Andy Myers Sr.  "if the hospital was not responsible, why did 
they give me money to bury the child?"

Dr. Alvaro Rosado, Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, feels that the 
response to the families affected has been adequate. "When the hospital was 
first informed of the incident, the (Health) Minister, and all senior 
hospital officials were informed. We all agreed that the number one 
priority was the welfare of the patients and their families.  So we 
immediately put into effect a system to take care of them..."

Henry, a young Belizean man living with AIDS said that he is fearful of 
coming out publicly there because of discrimination he will confront, but 
he is also aware that if he becomes ill, the medical system in his country 
may turn him away.  "Here in Belize we have no anti-retroviral medications, 
 no CD4 or viral load testing, and sometimes not even medications for 
opportunistic infections." According to Henry,  "two weeks ago a man living 
who had AIDS for many years died in a public hospital in Orange Walk.  His 
body was wrapped in a plastic bag and buried immediately in the town's old 
cemetery which is not even  used any more. His family was not permitted to 
hold funeral services."

Belize is one of the world's smallest countries, but, according to recent 
UNAIDS studies, the incidence of AIDS is over 2% of the adult population. A 
former British Colony which became independent in 1981, Belize is now a 
member of the British commonwealth.  Curiously, according to the official 
Belize constitution, the British sovereign, Queen Elizabeth, remains the 
official head of state in Belize.

But standards that might apply to English men and women  living with AIDS 
apparently  do not apply in Belize.  Says Henry "We have the Queen as our 
official head of state, but the government is still  denying us our basic 
rights."


Richard Stern, Ph.D.
Director,
Agua Buena Human Rights Association
San José, Costa Rica
Tel/Fax 506-234-2411
e-mail: rastern@sol.racsa.co.cr
www.aguabuena.org


(Information directly from Belize)
Rodel Beltran
Alliance Against AIDS
aaa@btl.net
Tel:  501-236-493
Fax: 501-236-494

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