With an estimated 543,100 people living with HIV (PLHIV), the Indonesian government through its HIV/AIDS national policies is committed to achieve the triple 95s goals—95 percent of PLHIV know their HIV status, 95 percent of PLHIV have access to ARV and 95 percent of PLHIV on ARV achieve viral load suppression. To date, the current achievement on the targeted percentages stands at 66-26-6 percent respectively.

To support the achievement of these targets, the ILO in collaboration with the Ministry of Manpower launched a series of innovative interventions on scaling up HIV/AIDS preventions at the workplace in Jakarta, attended by 400 participants online and offline. These series of interventions included the following:

• Development of an online training module on HIV prevention at work;
• Integration of HIV training modules in the OSH e-platform managed by the Ministry of Manpower;
• Establishment of an online registration tool for the Company AIDS Award;
• Documentation of good practices on HIV prevention programmes in seven companies and on HIV self-screening in two state-owned companies; and
• Survey on HIV vulnerability amongst young workers and their access to social protection.

The official launch was presided by Haiyani Rumondang, Director General for Labour Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) of the Ministry of Manpower represented by Heri Sutanto, Director of OSH Empowerment and Michiko Miyamoto, ILO Country Director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste. They commemorated the launch by symbolically placing their hands on a digital screen to start the screening of a multimedia highlighting the innovative interventions.

The launch also marked the official handover of these series of interventions on HIV/AIDS prevention at workplace from the ILO to the Ministry of Manpower. “It is the commitment of the ILO to continuously support Indonesia as its member States to innovatively strengthen the HIV/AIDS national policies and programmes. These innovative digitally programmes are the reflection of a collaborative effort from enterprises, workers, academia and other relevant organizations towards inclusive world of work in Indonesia,” stated Michiko.

A similar commitment was also conveyed by Director Heri as the representative of the Ministry of Manpower. He emphasized the importance of digital innovation and transformation in HIV policy making and intervention.

“In this industrialized era, we need to integrate digitalization in all areas, including in the HIV intervention and policy making to ensure the achievement of the 95s goals and the better protection of workers. The Ministry of Manpower greatly appreciates the supports given by the ILO and other partners to the strengthening of the national HIV/AIDS progammes,” he said.

In addition to the launch, an interactive discussion on HIV self-testing programme at the company level was conducted. The discussion examined the experiences of two state-owned enterprises: PT Pertamina Persero and PT Waskita Karya. Conducted in 2021, the programme reached a total of 4,966 workers consisting of 4,241 male workers and 752 female workers. The HIV-self testing tools were successfully distributed in 14 working sites within a duration of less than 3 months.

“A solid support from the company’s high-level management is a must and the involvement of trade unions should be strengthened are some of the lessons learnt from this activity. Some recommendations include the expansion of HIV self-testing programme to the informal sector and supports from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Manpower and other relevant ministries to the implementation of HIV self-testing at the company level,” said Early Dewi Nuriana, ILO Programme Officer of HIV/AIDS.

The event was concluded with the appreciation ceremony for all partners involved in the development, implementation, and dissemination of these HIV innovative intervention programmes. The appreciation was given to PT Pertamina Persero, PT Pertamina Hulu Energi Offshore North West Java (PHE ONJW), PT Waskita Karya, PT Andhika Lines, Star Energy Geothermal (Wayang Windu) Ltd, PT Mitra Energy Batam, PT Angkasa Pura 2, Hazama Ando-Wika Joint Operation, Indonesian Medical Association for Occupational Health (IDKI), Yarsi University and Kusuma Buana Foundation.

The live streaming of the launch and handover can be viewed on ILO TV Indonesia.