New Trade Manual to Help Fight HIV/AIDS in Indias Workplace

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New Trade Manual to Help Fight HIV/AIDS in Indias Workplace

Mon Dec 13, 2:06 AM ET World - OneWorld.net

Divya Chandel, OneWorld South Asia

NEW DELHI, Nov 11 (OWSA) - Trade unions have a vital

role in combating HIV (news - web sites)/AIDS (news -

web sites) at the workplace. In agreement with this

role, the International Labour Organisation (ILO)

released a new resource manual on HIV/AIDS for trade

union representatives in the Indian capital - New

Delhi.

Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Employment,

India, KM Sahni released the report prepared by the VV

Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI) as a part of

the collaborative project with ILO.

Addressing the gathering Sahni said: HIV/AIDS is a

development problem rather than a health problem.

According to him there is an evident link between

rapid economic progression and HIV/AIDS in the

workplace. Saying that only a planned and

comprehensive action, catering specifically to the

requirements of the trade unions, could help prevent

HIV/AIDS at the workplace, Sahni recommended that the

manual should be translated in other Indian languages.

ILO director Herman Van der Laan expressed optimism on

the widespread accessibility of the Hindi version of

the resource manual. We are fairly confident that we

have a valuable manual, he said.

Director VVGNLI Uday Kumar Varma, emphasised: This

manual is not a mere translation but is different as

it has been considerably enlarged, improved and

redesigned.

The objectives of the manual are to create a pool of

trainers and bring about awareness among the workforce

on the crucial issue of prevention of HIV/AIDS.

Published in Hindi, Indias national language, the

manual has been specifically designed to meet the

requirements of grassroots workers.

The manual outlines a five-day training curriculum

comprising of twelve sessions to provide an insight

into various issues around HIV/AIDS. The training

methodology is participative and dialogical to sustain

the interest of the trainees. A management and

evaluation team will monitor, document and report on

the proceedings of the training session. A session has

also been dedicated on the gender dimensions of

HIV/AIDS addressing concerns like womens biological

and social vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Concerned about the welfare and the rights of the

workers, trade union representatives have also

expressed their satisfaction over the manuals release.

Translating the English manual to deliver HIV/AIDS

prevention message was a difficult task earlier. But

this new manual gives us something authentic to refer

to in our national language, said RA Mittal, General

Secretary, Hind Mazdoor Sabha.

A 15-day international programme on prevention of

HIV/AIDS the workplace was also unveiled on the

occasion.

The Indian government is financing 21 participants

from countries like Armenia, Iran, Myanmar, Indonesia,

Madagascar, Panama and South Africa.

The workshop comprises of various modules aimed at

informing participants about the relevance of HIV/AIDS

as an issue at the workplace. It would also examine

the legal and the ethical dimensions of HIV/AIDS in

the work area and discuss ILO Code of Practice on

HIV/AIDS.

Researcher at Delta University, Nigeria Blessing Jaja

says, This training programme would equip me to plan

similar programmes in my country. Moreover as a

researcher I would be able to improve my research

skill to generate data for policy formulation.

According to Jaja there is lack of co-ordination in

the efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in

Nigeria. UNAIDS (news - web sites) estimated the

number of HIV infected people in Nigeria to be four

million in 2003.

Talking about Indonesian governments initiatives to

tackle HIV/AIDS Dharmasemaya public health advisor,

Ministry of Health, Indonesia informed that the AIDS

awareness programme is embedded in the Healthy

Indonesia - 2010 project. He said, The programme

operates in five core sectors namely, the workplace,

educational institutions, public services, health

institutions and households.

According to the ILO 40 million people are infected

with HIV/AIDS worldwide and India is second only to

South Africa in the number of HIV cases in a single

country. According to a UNAIDS estimates, nearly 5.1

million people are infected with HIV/AIDS in India and

the threat from HIV is accelerating.

In 2002, the ILO developed a new advocacy tool with

UNAIDS and the World Economic Forum (news - web sites)

to sensitise business and trade unions in the

Asia-Pacific region to the need to fight HIV/AIDS.

Action against AIDS in the workplace is a kit that

provides key information plus guidelines for policy

development.

A reference manual has also been developed for

education officers of the Central Board for Workers

Education, Ministry of Labour, and the Government of

India.

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