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Knowing your HIV Status through workplace initiative

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Knowing your HIV Status through workplace initiative

A Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) Centre opened at the Primary Health Clinic at Jikwoy in Abuja, Nigeria, on 5 July 2010 under the Building Workplace Capacity to combat HIV/AIDS in Nigeria Project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The new Clinic will cater to the needs of workers willing to know their HIV/AIDS status in the area and is part of the Project launched in July 2009 in partnership with the Nigeria Labour Congress. Mrs Abimiku, Chief Matron, and Mr Apollo Ali, her assistant and members of the Medical and Health Workers' Union attended the opening. Mrs Ifeoma Josephine Okafor, professional nurse, will be in charge of the VCT Centre.

The workplace initiative in Nigeria implemented by TUC Aid The workplace initiative in Nigeria implemented by TUC Aid is designed to contribute to a reduction in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, better protection and promotion of employment and human rights of workers infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS and to the elimination of stigma and discrimination against them. Six affiliates of the NLC in the Education and Health Sectors are taking part in it. It is hoped that the establishment of the VCT Centre will enable workers and their families to know their status and seek counseling, treatment and care at an early stage. In many parts of the world, trade unions combating HIV/AIDS through workplace action have played a decisive role in overcoming the initial reluctance of workers to come forward for testing. The current VCT initiative in Abuja follows the successful completion of a pilot project in 2009 funded by TUC Aid in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, in collaboration with the Timber and Woodworkers' Union (TWU).

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