Fight against stigma and discrimination in Belarus
On July 11 in the run up to the XIX International AIDS Conference that took place in Washington DC from July 22 to July 27 and brought together thousands of delegates, including activists, people living with HIV, experts, politicians and medics, the Ministry of Education of Belarus adopted the Methodological Recommendations on HIV Policy Implementation in Education Sector.
11 July 2012
The number of people living with HIV keeps growing in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which is the only region where HIV prevalence remains on the rise. The Republic of Belarus is not an exception: in 2011 new HIV cases increased by 11 percent to reach 13,000 there. Over 60 percent of HIV-infected in Belarus are young people aged between 15 to 29 years.
Despite the effective legislation on prevention of any forms of discrimination against people living with HIV in Belarus HIV-positive people often face negative attitude towards them in education institutions and at the workplace.
The Ministry of Education of Belarus adopted the Methodological Recommendations on HIV Policy Implementation in Education Sector to create in education institutions a friendly and safe environment free of discrimination and to guarantee observance of rights of students and educators living with or affected by HIV.
The Methodological Recommendations were developed in compliance with the national legislation of Belarus on the basis of the Practical Recommendations on HV Policy Implementation in Education Sector issued by UNESCO and ILO Moscow offices.
The Practical Recommendations provide the management and the staff of educational institutions with a policy framework and practical tips for supporting and protecting from discrimination students and educators living with or affected by HIV and for organizing preventive education to avert the spread of the epidemic. They can be also used to improve bylaws of education and training institutions.
Belarus became the second country that approved national recommendations on HIV policy implementation in the education sector. Earlier this year the Russian Federation also approved such recommendations.