Tourism Ministry Launches HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign

Jamaica’s Ministry of Tourism is kicking off a new HIV awareness campaign, which features television and radio ads, posters, and other visual aids. Part of the focus includes getting employers in the tourism sector to adopt national HIV/AIDS prevention and employment non-discrimination policies, said Edmond Bartlett, the tourism minister.

Bartlett said these policies “should be practiced in the halls of tourism.” He lauded businesses that have already launched workplace HIV programs, as well as those that have installed on-site condom dispensing machines.

With the help of a $5.5 million (US $64,000) World Bank loan, the campaign will focus on HIV prevention in the workplace; management and mitigation of the disease’s impact in the workplace and tourism sector; provision of HIV/AIDS treatment, care, and support for affected workers; and reducing disease-related stigma and discrimination.

Studies have not found a direct association between HIV infection and tourism, Bartlett said. However, the campaign is important “not merely because our economy relies so heavily on tourism earnings, but also because the Caribbean has the second highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in the world,” he said. “The tourism workforce is a key population which has to be protected against potential damaging effects of HIV.”

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

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