Itâ s illegal to sell condoms in Belize, a country with the highest rate of HIV in Ce

ntral America. More than 2 percent of the population is HIV or AIDS-infected, w

hich is the same rate as Ethiopia and Angola.
While condoms are widely available for sale in supermarkets, pharmacies and corn
er tiendas and also available at public clinics, this ancient prohibition remain
s on the books. What does this tell us? Like many other countries facing cultu
ral barriers to condom use availability is not the issue. Stigma against its us
e is the problem.
My review of Belize government programs and services finds almost no reference t
o condoms and their use in preventing the spread of the disease. No politician i
s responsibly urging their use. No government public awareness programs telling
the population how to protect itself. No warnings to tourists. Thereâ s not even a
mention of the word on Belizeâ s National AIDS committee site.
According to a 2010 report issued by the Belize Ministry of Health and Pan Ameri
can Health Organization, the Caribbean is now considered the second most HIV/AID
S affected region in the world after sub-Saharan Africa. Condoms and cultural b
arriers to their use was widely discussed in that report, however.
The Ministry/PAHO report further states that among the Central American countrie
s, Belize has the highest estimated prevalence rate of HIV among adults aged 15-
49. For the last five years, HIV/AIDS has been the fourth major cause of death
among Belizean men and women The report goes on to caution that the real numbers
are likely much, much higher. No indication in the report of efforts by the gov
ernment to change condom laws or encourage their use, even among its identified
vulnerable population groups.
Last year the HEU, Center for Health Economics, based at the University of the W
est Indies, released its report, regarding the impact of HIV on tourism. Tobago
has an HIV rate that almost parallels Belizeâ s. The report is said that country wa
s on the verge of a tourism economic disaster. You have to conclude Belize is in
the same boat. Most of the HIV transmission to tourists is sourced through th
e commercial sex trade.
Belize was highlighted in the recently released UNAIDS OUTLOOK Report 2010. Acc
ording to the report, the Belize government launched a sexual health program in
which more than 150 peer educators were trained and two additional youth-friendl
y spaces opened as safe places for students to access information about HIV. No
info about this from Belize directly. No mention of HIV/AIDS in its touted str
ategic health plan. With the scope of the problem obvious to everyone, you woul
d think a strategic health plan would include prevention measures for spread of
HIV as one of their priorities. Not the case in Belize.

The Belize Ministry of Health web site, recently updated and re-launched, gives
no clue as to what programs and services the government offers to prevent the sp
read of the virus or help those infected. In principle, they are supposed to b
e industriously engaged in free testing, voluntary counseling and making availab
le antiretroviral therapy. Only reference on their site is an epidemiological r
eport on the 2009 situation, confirming the gravity of the situation.