Sri Lanka’s NGO’s join job agencies in HIV program

(May 17, 2011) Sri Lankan’s government, in association with the International Labor Organization, ILO, on Monday began a three-day HIV/AIDS prevention training program for NGOs, Caritas and employment organizations, who work with overseas migrants. “The focus of HIV/AIDS prevention programs should be those at most risk, such as migrant workers, so we train those who work with migrants as protectors,” said Indira Hettia-rach-chi, national project coordinator of the ILO’s HIV/AIDS prevention program. Representatives from 10 job agencies and 12 NGOs are participating in the program. B. A. Prasad Fernando, project coordinator of Caritas Chilaw said “Since we work in villages, we come across many people about to migrate and needing advice, but we are not sufficiently aware of the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS overseas to be of adequate help to them.”
It is estimated that 1.2 million Sri Lankans work in the Middle East and 79 percent of the unskilled migrants are women. The government says they need to be aware of the risks from engaging in unsafe casual or commercial sex, or contracting the killer disease as a result of sexual abuse. Besides creating awareness, improving migrants’ life skills such as decision making, critical thinking, as well as communication and interpersonal skills, helps them to protect themselves, said Hettiarachchi.