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Issue 26, July/August 2007
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Welcome to the readers of  ,
the monthly newsletter from the MSD Interpharma HIV Team.
With 1.3 million of its people currently living with HIV, Kenya is facing a serious AIDS epidemic. Whilst evidence that HIV prevalence is declining -from a high of 15% adult prevalence at the turn of the millennium to just over 6% in 2005-every year 80,000 Kenyans still die from an AIDS- related disease.
Most new HIV infections occur among young people, especially young women in the 15-24 age bracket and men under the age of 30 who are just entering the workforce. There is an urgent need to do more to prevent, control and mitigate the spread of HIV/AIDS at work and in the community.
Last year, the Kenya HIV/AIDS Private Sector Business Council (KHBC) began a pilot peer education program in 20 of its member companies. The aim is to proactively raise awareness about risky sexual behavior and HIV transmission, and to dispel the many myths that surround HIV/AIDS. These myths include that HIV/AIDS is caused by witchcraft, that it is a curse by either God or ancestral spirits, or that it can be cured by having sex with a virgin or by eating a boiling herbal soup.
Peer education has worked in many countries. It is often organized on the initiative of the company doctor, but in this case the idea came from the KHBC as an extra service offered to its member companies. The Co-operative Insurance Company (CIC), a leading Kenyan company in the insurance sector, is one of the first companies to have benefited from the KHBC peer education course. It now has one peer educator for every five employees - an impressive statistic when one considers that the South African Dept of Labor was recommending a ratio of one peer educator to every 50 workers back in 2003. Whilst some critics argue that peer educators are ‘management's devils’ or ‘union's toys’, at CIC peer educators and management speak with one voice and work hand in hand supporting the company's values. They seem genuinely committed to fighting HIV/AIDS in the workplace.
Among the advantages of peer education is the ability to access people living with HIV or vulnerable to infection. This access is both physical and socio-cultural. As peer educators understand the language and patterns of communication of those whom they try to influence, they are able to communicate in a very professional and effective way.
Peer education will help CIC invest in the future in the following ways:
- Reducing infections, through the effective distribution of condoms on the company premises
- Reducing medical and funeral costs
- Reducing the loss of skilled staff
- Improving individual commitment to HIV prevention activities involving staff and dependents
- Reducing stigma and discrimination
For more details on CIC's collaboration with the KHBC, click here...
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Lettre d'information HIV@MSD en français