The We Care Team of UNDP Country Office in Afghanistan recently launched the second round of training trying to ensure that every staff member, national and international, at each level could allocate some time for upgrading their basic awareness on of HIV/AIDS.

In accordance to the work plan and the Term of References (TORs) set out last year, We Care Team conducted first round of awareness raising activities on the basics of HIV/AIDS for the UNDP staff. The trainings proved to be useful in terms of sensitization and information dissemination on the basics of HIV/AIDS not only for the staff, but for their dependents and family members as well.

Staff members were disintegrated into the groups of male national, female national and internationals to ensure that every staff member has full overview of the basics of HIV/AIDS, having the opportunity to raise questions and discuss issues and concerns in a more open and participatory manner. The training was complemented by the distribution of booklets (English, Pashto, and Dari), pamphlets and posters containing important information on HIV/AIDS.

The turn over of the national staff members was higher than the last time which clearly indicates their interest in learning and acquiring knowledge of how to protect themselves and their family against AIDS, and individually contribute to wider efforts on preventing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in workplace and in community at large. Participants of the training expressed their interest by engaging in a fruitful interaction and participating in the questions and answers segment of the session. Staff members expressed their satisfaction with the way their understandings of HIV/AIDS were refreshed, meanwhile they promised networking their information with to their respective family members, friends and colleagues, and showed willingness in referring to We Care Team members if the need further counseling and advice.

UNDP Country Office in Afghanistan, as Country Offices around the world, established a “We Care Team” in April 2005 to advocate and support UNDP staff in the workplace by providing basic trainings and education on HIV/AIDS related issues. The members of the team work actively on voluntary basis to serve as resource persons for the staff advocate and facilitate their testing, treatment and counseling. The main objectives are to aware and update staff on issues defining the harms and effects of this fatal infection.
The We Care Team facilitates basic information on ways how to protect and prevent the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and reduce stigma and discrimination in the workplace among the staff against PLWH (People Living with HIV/AIDS).

Last but not least, it is worth mentioning that the We Care Team activities enjoys full support and commitment of UNDP Senior Management and the team is strongly dedicated to broaden its mandate and scope to conduct similar trainings and information dissemination sessions for UNDP projects as well as regional and provincial offices.