FHI - World AIDS Day Activities Focus on Workplace Programs

DECEMBER 2007 — To mark World AIDS Day 2007, FHI/Côte d'Ivoire provided technical support and funding derived from USAID to "Journées des Enterprises," a knowledge-exchange in Abidjan on workplace HIV testing and counseling programs. The event was organized by two partners, General Confederation of Enterprises in Côte d'Ivoire and Coalition des Entreprises de Côte d'Ivoire contre le VIH/SIDA, and included a march, an exhibition hall, discussion panels, and a soccer game with the theme "Sport for life."

Attendees represented a wide spectrum of companies, from Coca Cola and Shell to small companies and NGOs. Organizations whose staff achieved high rates of pre- and post-test counseling shared best practices and spotlighted strategies they used to achieve results.

FHI was also engaged in World AIDS Day activities in the city of Man, in the western region of Côte d'Ivoire, which was selected as this year's "World AIDS Day town" by the Ministry of AIDS and its partners. FHI set up a booth to display publications and drew attention to community aspects of projects that target sex workers and their partners. The six partner agencies implementing these projects were present. Financial support for FHI's participation in these events was provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief.