New HIV advocacy board installed

A 15-member HIV Workplace Advocacy Advisory Board chaired by Natalie Willis, permanent secretary (Ag) in the Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development yesterday received their letters of appointment.

The other board members are Simon Wiltshire, Izola Garcia, Brother Noble Khan, Violet Joseph, Cheryl Martyr, Dr Keven Antoine, Aileen Clarke, Beryl Riley, Terrence Beepath, Heather Rodney, Gwendoline McLaren, Dr Tracie Rogers, Colin Mills and Ariel Pino.

Thanking the members for their public service roles, Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development Jennifer Baptiste-Primus said they are poised to fulfil their mandate to protect the rights of people living with HIV in the workplace.

A release noted the Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development recently launched its national HIV workplace policy and one of the board’s “important work” is to brand the new policy in Trinidad and Tobago. The board’s mandate is to guide the formulation and review of the policy on HIV and AIDS, the HIV workplace advocacy unit’s sustainability plan, the annual work plan and monitoring and evaluation framework on HIV and AIDS in the world of work.

It is to monitor, evaluate and report on the annual work plan in line with the monitoring and evaluation framework and recommend adjustments in the implementation of proposed activities and timelines.

Other mandates include ensuring alignment of HIV workplace advocacy unit activities with the goals and targets of the national strategic plan for HIV and AIDS, regional and international conventions, recommendations and strategic frameworks as applicable, and to facilitate mobilisation of human, technical and financial resources to ensure the sustainability of work of the HIV workplace advocacy unit.

The board is also to advocate for necessary legislative changes to create a more enabling environment for people living with HIV in the workplace.

In a brief overview, Baptiste-Primus said, the board has its origins in the Project Advisory Board (PAB) established in 2006 to oversee the implementation of the International Labour Organisation/US Department of Labour HIV and AIDS Workplace education programme, “An Accelerated Response: Trinidad and Tobago.” The three-year programme was a pilot project to address HIV/AIDS in the work place. At the end of the project in 2008, it was handed over to the labour ministry and Cabinet agreed to rename the PAB as the HIV/AIDS Advocacy and Sustainability Centre (HASC) advisory board for three years.

In October 2017, Cabinet agreed to change the name of the HASC to the HIV Workplace Advocacy Unit with the board being named the HIV Workplace Advocacy Advisory Board.