The Workplace Working Group on HIV was established under the National AIDS Commission to promote and implement HIV related issue at the workplaces. However, the Workplace Working Group has been inactive for two years due to the abolishment of the National AIDS Commission last year.

Considering the importance of workplaces as the key to preventing the spread of the epidemic and the high number of productive aged people affected by HIV, the Ministry of Manpower, with support from the ILO, took a lead to reactivate the Workplace Working Group on HIV. Key stakeholders related to the HIV and the world of work gathered at a one-day workshop in December in Jakarta, discussing and identifying ways to effectively reactivate the Working Group.

Herman Prakoso, Director of Occupational Safety and Health Inspection of the Ministry of Manpower, underlined the importance of the re-establishment of the working group. “The Working Group has made a notable progress in raising the awareness and in facilitating HIV counseling and testing, we need to continue and improve the progress made. With support from the ILO, together we can find the best formula to reactive more actions and involve stronger partnerships.”

During the workshop titled "Expanding a Non-Discriminatory Policy and HIV Prevention in Indonesia through Reactivating Workplace Working Group", representatives from the Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing, Indonesian Employers’ Association (Apindo) and a company shared best practices, experiences as well as progress made and challenges faced.

The meeting concluded with some identification of role and function of workplace working group on HIV in particularly to expand the coordination among related tripartite stakeholders in promoting the Ministerial Decree No. 68/2004, to promote best practices on HIV prevention at workplace and to mobilize more companies to develop non-discriminatory policy and HIV prevention program at workplace.

In addition, an initial action plan has been developed by prioritizing several high risk sectors such as construction, maritime, and transportation as the first stage to scale up the response on HIV prevention programme at workplace. This action is leading to the plan for the formalization of the Working Group on HIV next year.

“It is hoped the re-establishment of the working group on HIV would be able to stimulate a stronger coordination among workplace stakeholders to achieve Fast-Track Targets “90-90-90” to end the AIDS epidemic by 2020, in particularly within the productive age,” said Early Dewi Nuriana, the ILO’s officer for HIV and AIDS.