ILO supports AIDS education in workplace

The global fight against AIDS is not being waged on a single battlefield or even led by a unified command. Instead it is largely a war of small skirmishes–scientific, social, political–conducted all over the world, sometimes successful, sometimes not. In Belize a new initiative currently being implemented with assistance from the United States Department of Labour is taking a different approach at AIDS education: carrying the message directly to the workplace. This morning the ILO/USDOL project enlisted the Belize City Council to join in the effort. Coordinator Sheila Middleton says the hope is that getting people to realize the need to put into action what they’ve learned is a good way to turn up the heat on AIDS.

Sheila Middleton, Coordinator, HIV/AIDS Workplace Education Program
?I really think that sometimes we as the educators out here, we really truly think that people understands and link the knowledge with the change of behaviour. But I think it?s something that we really have to work on trying to help people to link the knowledge with the behaviour change. I don?t think that we are wasting our time or anything, but I truly believe that the more information people are equipped with the more likely that change is to happen.?

Patrick Jones
?Do you see changes happening??

Sheila Middleton
?In some ways, at times you are hopeful and some other times when you hear people make certain comments or people discriminating or stigmatizing people you get discouraged. But I do think we do making a change.?

?What the agreement clearly states is, it gives each company that have signed on to it an idea of what are the activities that will take place and what the contribution will be from the ILO/USDOL project as well what the companies contribution will be to the project. And basically all the company?s contribution is basically to allow their workers time off to do training within the working hours.?

Patrick Jones
?When it comes to AIDS in the workplace, what is the current status in Belize??

Sheila Middleton
?Well when you look at the statistics it?s basically saying that the people in the working age fifteen to forty-four years are the ones that are most affected by the disease. So there has to be some way of doing some intervention and this project seeks to do that.?

Middleton says that to date, fourteen companies in the service, tourism and agriculture sectors have signed on to the agreement. Supporters of the initiative say that puts fifteen thousand people in the forefront of the education campaign with the hope that they will influence thousands more to make changes to their sexual behaviour.