November 20, 2025 - Belize continues to demonstrate strong leadership in adopting innovative, person-centered approaches to HIV prevention, treatment, and care. Building on this, PAHO Belize, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW), conducted a five-day technical mission to strengthen the country’s capacity to deliver more effective and sustainable HIV services.
This mission built upon previous joint technical cooperation and ongoing efforts to expand combination HIV prevention and differentiated service delivery (DSD) models across Belize. It also followed the 2024 University of Miami technical mission, which produced the Belize HIV Prevention, Treatment, and Retention Report. That report provided valuable insights into national progress, highlighting key opportunities to improve adherence, linkage to care, and differentiated approaches to prevention that helped inform the design and focus of this PAHO mission.
From the outset, the mission focused on collaboration and learning. During the first two days, multidisciplinary HIV response teams from across the country participated in an interactive workshop. Participants shared experiences, explored practical approaches to DSD, and strengthened their understanding of strategies to make HIV care more accessible and responsive to individual needs. The workshop focused on enhancing HIV testing options, including rapid testing, self-testing, and assisted partner notification, while identifying ways to increase PrEP uptake and ensure long-term retention care.
By midweek, the mission transitioned to hands-on technical support. The team visited the MoHW’s Epidemiology Unit, where national staff and technical experts worked together to refine data management systems, strengthen monitoring processes, and enhance the use of data for informed decision-making. A site visit to the Matron Roberts Polyclinic in Belize City provided a practical opportunity to observe how DSD models and Belize’s HIV Monitoring Tool are being implemented to improve service delivery.
On the fourth day, the mission team and national staff met to review the progress made, discuss existing challenges, and identify key priorities for the year ahead. These discussions focused on strategies to accelerate the rollout of PrEP and nPEP, scale up innovative HIV testing approaches, and ensure that services effectively reach key and vulnerable populations.
The mission concluded with an internal PAHO debriefing to consolidate lessons learned, align next steps, and ensure that the work continues beyond the mission’s activities. As Belize continues to advance its HIV/STI response, the outcomes of this mission will serve as continued work for sustained progress. By building the capacity of HIV response teams, improving data systems, and enhancing service delivery models, while maintaining a strong partnership between PAHO and the MoHW, Belize reaffirms its leadership and commitment to delivering innovative, person-centered HIV prevention and treatment services.
