Chao Announces $2 Million Grant to Improve Working Conditions for Ugandan Laborers suffering from HIV/AIDS WASHINGTONU.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao has announced a $2 million grant to fund a workplace education program in Uganda to help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. The grantees, World Vision and RTI International, will work to provide information about the disease while improving the work environment for laborers with HIV/AIDS. This project is part of the departments HIV/AIDS Workplace Education Program.
Work sites are common meeting places which provide prime opportunities for HIV/AIDS education for workers, said Elaine L. Chao, U.S. Secretary of Labor. This $2 million grant program will provide information that is essential to workers health and well-being and aid in the overall effort to eliminate HIV/AIDS. Components of the HIV/AIDS Workplace Education Program in Uganda will include: prevention education in the workplace, development of workplace policies to address the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS, and capacity building activities for government, employers, and trade unions to strengthen the response to the epidemic. World Vision will also work in cooperation with local community/faith-based organizations to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS by educating Ugandan teachers on effective methods to prevent the disease. Another focus of the grants is the creation of a sustainable partnership between U.S.-based and Ugandan community, grassroots, and faith-based organizations working in the areas of HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation.
World Vision International, a faith-based organization, is currently active in six continents. Through advocacy and intervention, the organization continues to improve the quality of life for individuals all over the world. RTI is a North Carolina based nonprofit organization that has helped countries solve complex problems for over four decades.
The implementing partners will collaborate with the Labor Departments International HIV/AIDS Workplace Education Program to develop innovative strategies to address HIV/AIDS through efforts to promote safer, healthier, more productive work environments. These grants are funded through the International Cooperation Program of the Departments Bureau of International Labor Affairs. _________________________________________________________________ Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.
