Monrovia, Liberia – The second phase of a significant information-dissemination and awareness-raising campaign on the recently updated HIV and AIDS Workplace Policy for Liberia has been completed by the Ministry of Labour in partnership with the International Labor Organization.
The week-long campaign, which took place in Liberia’s Nimba and Grand Cape Mount Counties, two of the country’s most heavily populated and concession-prone regions, started on June 12 and to June 16 of 2023. The goal of the campaign was to increase public awareness of the amended policy’s provisions in an effort to reduce workplace discrimination and stop the spread of the virus.
Salif Haji Massalay, the ILO County Coordinator in Liberia, stated that the campaign is the second in a series of awareness campaigns that began in 2022 following the adoption of the newly revised HIV and AIDS Workplace Policy for Liberia on two separate occasions at the conclusion of the campaign in Ganta City, Nimba County, and in Robertsport, Grand Cape Mount County.
Speaking on behalf of Dr. Vanessa L. Phala, the ILO Country Director for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Liaison Office for ECOWAS, Massaley added that the policy primarily applies to all employees and employers without exception. She also emphasized that the policy’s successful implementation necessitates the cooperative efforts of both employers and employees in the workplace.
“The development of the policy is rooted in the ILO’s four fundamental mandates of the organization that seeks to protect workers – protecting the rights of workers, ensuring and supporting decent work, providing social protection, and promoting social dialogue between employers and employees.”
According to Mr. Massalay, the development of the policy “is equally guided by various ILO’s conventions, notable among which are Convention No 111, Non-discrimination in Employment and Occupational at the Workplace, Convention 150, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, Convention 155, Occupational Health and Safety at the Workplace, Convention 158, Termination of Employment, and the ILO Recommendation 200 concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work.
No employer, under any circumstance, should discriminate against any employee or attempt to have an employee’s employment terminated because of his or her HIV status, according to Mr. Massalay. He underlined that businesses should make sure that every employee has a supportive and enabling environment, regardless of their health status, and that the proper procedures should be put in place to guarantee that every employee has a normal and supportive workplace.
Mr. Massalay concluded that the policy’s objective is to provide direction to the executive branch, business owners, and employees regarding how to alter workplace behavior. He expressed his gratitude for all of the help received throughout the policy’s preparation from the National AIDS Commission, the Ministry of Labour’s Division of HIV and AIDS, and other local and international partners.
In order to prevent discrimination against employees with HIV, AIDS, and related opportunistic illnesses, the recently amended HIV and AIDS Workplace Policy reflects five key goals: Building the capacity of workplace management and employees to handle HIV and AIDS and related opportunistic infections is one way to achieve the following goals: a) to facilitate the establishment of workplace regulations, policies, and program responses to HIV and AIDS; b) to create an environment that is conducive to the provision of treatment, care, support, and counseling; c) to facilitate the review and enactment of appropriate laws and status to incorporate; and d) to facilitate all of the aforementioned goals. HIV and AIDS, and e) to boost private sector, civil society, faith-based, and organizations of people living with HIV engagement in order to accelerate the national HIV and AIDS response. The best way to accomplish these goals is to continuously increase awareness and capacity.
As a result, the awareness campaign focused on and included human resource managers, other employees of both public and commercial businesses, as well as health professionals in the counties of Nimba and Grand Cape Mount, which are prone to concessions. The initiative also brought together school officials, instructors, and their students to discuss HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and non-discrimination.
A total of 400 workers, managers, teachers and students participated in the awareness campaign. At the close of the campaign, some 12,800 pieces of condoms and 300 copies of the policy were distributed. The intervention was undertaken within the framework of the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS.
Reported by: Augustine Octavius
Contact: +231777463963
Email: augustineoctavius@gmail.com
