Chu Quoc An, deputy director of the Ministry of Health's HIV/AIDS Prevention Department made the statement at a ceremony to honour ten private Vietnamese enterprises for blazing a trail in promoting HIV/AIDS workplace prevention programmes and employment support for people living with HIV.
Statistics from the International Labour Organisation show that more than two-thirds of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are of working age. In South Africa, 25 per cent of the labour force is reported to be infected with HIV/AIDS.
As of June, 176,500 people were reportedly living with HIV in Viet Nam, 80 per cent of whom were in the 20-39 age group, key members of Viet Nam's current and future labour force.
Lesson learnt from other countries have shown that profit and productivity are negatively impacted by rampant cases of HIV/AIDS among a country's labour force.
The honoured enterprises were selected from 130 enterprises participating in a five-year project to encourage HIV/AIDS workplace-prevention. The project began in 2008 with funds from the US President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief in partnership with the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and its subsidiary the Viet Nam Women Entrepreneurs Council (VWEC).
Selected enterprises were recognised for demonstrating excellence in committing funds and effort to implementing HIV/AIDS workplace prevention policies, organising HIV/AIDS education activities among employees and providing free condoms. They also implemented non-discriminatory policies regarding HIV/AIDS, recruited people living with HIV (PLHIV), and committed funds to care and support activities for PLHIV in the community.
Jonathan Ross, deputy director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)'s Office of Public Health, said the 10 enterprises represented an impressive range of services and industries from shipbuilding to construction, garments, transportation, steel and coal.
As of August, about 90 per cent of all employees in the enterprises had received information on HIV prevention and created a working environment free of stigmas against the 125 employees living with HIV and recovering drug users.
Nguyen Viet Thanh, representative of Ha Tu Coal Company in the northern province of Quang Ninh, one of the honoured enterprises, said the company's managers at all levels understood the importance of educating and raising awareness among their workers about HIV/AIDS given the fact that Quang Ninh was a hot spot for social evils, notably drug addiction and prostitutes.
Thanh, whose company employs 3,200 workers, said: "Our consistent policy is to always offer another chance to employees who are addicted to drugs as long as they complete drug rehabilitation."
As of now, Thanh's company had sent 76 workers to the drug rehabilitation centre and rehired 42 who had successfully given up drugs. It also had an eight-member consulting team to provide employees with relevant prevention information.
Nguyen Duc Chinh, a 27-year-old former drug user and employee of the Dai Viet Garment Company in HCM City, another honoured enterprise, said he was lucky to be hired by the company because he would have a regular income and the feeling of being part of the community again.
"Everyone is very helpful and friendly. I haven't suffered from any stigma's in the workplace," he said.
General Secretary Pham Gia Tuc of VCCI said: "HIV/AIDS workplace prevention helps enterprises not only to protect their employees but also steadily develop and increase their competitiveness in the current market-oriented and international integration environment."
VWEC Chairwoman Tran Thi Thuy appealed for greater participation by the private sector in the form of stronger commitment and active participation in different support initiatives for PLHIV and recovering drug users for economic improvement to stabilise lives and encourage reintegration into the community.
The US$3 million project has provided technical assistance to more than 130 VCCI-affiliated enterprises in implementing HIV workplace policies for 128,000 employees and employment support for 456 PLHIV and high risk individuals. — VNS
No comments:
Post a Comment