International Symposium on HIV and AIDS Responses in the Education System and Workplace

BRUSSELS – An international symposium entitled, "Working on HIV and AIDS in Education: System and workplace responses for and by education sector workers," was convened by the UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Education, and co-hosted by Education International and the International Labour Organization, on 2 December 2010.

The symposium aimed to encourage dialogue about how to strengthen workplace responses to HIV and AIDS in the education sector at both system and school levels to ensure that workplace policies achieve their desired impact and are fully integrated in overall sector planning.

Specifically, the Symposium provided a forum for in-depth analysis of the following issues:

• The status and efficacy of existing coverage, quality and implementation of workplace policies;

• The impact of policies on prevention and mitigation outcomes for schools, universities and training sites;

• Effective ways to mainstream workplace HIV and AIDS policies and implementation into sector plans and strategies;

• Obstacles to the meaningful participation of education sector workers in policy development and implementation;

• System-level implications of the HIV and AIDS response, beyond individual-level impacts.
Participants included members of the UNAIDS IATT on Education, representatives of bilateral and multi-lateral organizations, governmental and non-governmental institutions and civil society organizations.

The symposium report (in pdf) is available online and synthesizes the key issues discussed at the Symposium and the conclusions reached.

• Source:UNESCO
• 15-03-2011