Interagency Training Workshop on HIV Prevention in Volgograd
A training workshop “Strengthening HIV/AIDS Programmes at Work in the Volgograd Oblast” took place in Volgograd on March 21 and 22.
The workshop was organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO), Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Russia, as well as the region’s Labour and Employment Committee, Health Committee and trade unions. The opening ceremony was attended by Grigory Lekarev, Deputy Minister of Labour of the Russian Federation.
Soon there will be no need to go to a health institution to be tested for HIV: workers will be able to do so at work and get advice regarding this disease. The project was initiated by the ILO, with the relevant methodological documents being developed by the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry emphasizes that HIV testing is voluntary and confidential, and its findings will not be disclosed. The purpose is to advise workers and employers on HIV-related issues and to avoid that those living with HIV are discriminated against and stigmatized at work.
Representatives of the regional government’s committees, employment centers, employer associations and trade unions were invited to the two-day training workshop. It bears reminding that over the last few years the Volgograd Oblast has been one of the country’s leaders in terms of the population covered with voluntary HIV testing. As reported by Oleg Kozyrev, chief HIV specialist of the regional health committee, specialists of the regional AIDS control and prevention center have been testing workers for HIV at a number of consenting companies long before the joint initiative of the ILO and the Ministry of Labour. As part of the annual awareness campaigns, workers at Russian Railways, Red October Steel Works, Meteor Plant, Metroelektrotrans wholly owned municipal company, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Volgograd Oblast can take an instant HIV test on a voluntary and anonymous basis and get professional advice both before and after testing.
Soon there will be no need to go to a health institution to be tested for HIV: workers will be able to do so at work and get advice regarding this disease. The project was initiated by the ILO, with the relevant methodological documents being developed by the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry emphasizes that HIV testing is voluntary and confidential, and its findings will not be disclosed. The purpose is to advise workers and employers on HIV-related issues and to avoid that those living with HIV are discriminated against and stigmatized at work.
Representatives of the regional government’s committees, employment centers, employer associations and trade unions were invited to the two-day training workshop. It bears reminding that over the last few years the Volgograd Oblast has been one of the country’s leaders in terms of the population covered with voluntary HIV testing. As reported by Oleg Kozyrev, chief HIV specialist of the regional health committee, specialists of the regional AIDS control and prevention center have been testing workers for HIV at a number of consenting companies long before the joint initiative of the ILO and the Ministry of Labour. As part of the annual awareness campaigns, workers at Russian Railways, Red October Steel Works, Meteor Plant, Metroelektrotrans wholly owned municipal company, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Volgograd Oblast can take an instant HIV test on a voluntary and anonymous basis and get professional advice both before and after testing.