HRM Department and Student Service Staff held Community Conversation on HIV/AIDS Mainstreaming Programmes
In its quest to scale up mainstreaming HIV and AIDS at work places, the Ethiopian Civil Service University HIV/AIDS Management Unit has chosen Human Resource Management Department and Student Service as pilot project and held two half days community conversations on April 20 and 29, 2011 respectively.
Fifty ECSU staff members, thirty from HRM Department and twenty from Student Service participated in the conversation.
The main objective of the conversations was to promote ECSU community participation in the fight against HIV and AIDS and scale up mainstreaming efforts at different sections of the University taking this project as a pilot. The community conversation programmes are believed to avoid misconception, break silence through up-to-date & reliable information, build favorable working environment, and minimize stigma & discrimination as well as enhance social support mechanisms for those afflicted /infected by the epidemic.
Building the knowledge, changing attitudes and behaviors of ECSU Community towards HIV & AIDS control and prevention through peer educators’ conversations and entertainment is part and parcel of the Unit’s activities as stated in their BSC plan.
This community conversation program will continue for the next two months and beyond. The unit will analyze the outcomes of the conversations and other related activities and scale up the project to different sections of the University, both academic and administrative work units