John Keells educates more than 100,000 persons via HIV and AIDS Awareness Campaign

John Keells HIV & AIDS Master Trainers conduct awareness program for Jetwing Hotel employees

John Keells HIV & AIDS awareness program conducted during University of Colombo orientation

HIV and AIDS session at Police Training School Elpitiya

Army officials participating in a John Keells HIV & AIDS awareness campaign

The John Keells HIV and AIDS Awareness Campaign – a long-term CSR initiative of the John Keells Group – recently passed the milestone of sensitising 100,000 persons on HIV and AIDS since project inception, the highest recorded impact created by a private entity in Sri Lanka.

The initiative is aimed at prevention through education and designed to cover awareness among Group staff, various communities around the Group’s business locations and the general public. Launched in June 2005, it was the first such campaign to be undertaken by a local corporate in Sri Lanka and has sustained its HIV and AIDS Awareness Campaign for more than a decade. The campaign has been partnered by government and non-governmental bodies including National STD/AIDS Control Programme of the Ministry of Health (NSACP), International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) and Positive Women’s Network.

Speaking on the value of the John Keells HIV and AIDS awareness campaign, National STD/AIDS Control Program Director Dr. Sisira Liyanage said, “National STD/AIDS Control Program truly appreciates John Keells’ effort to support HIV prevention over the years by sensitising not only employees of the John Keells Group but also staff of other corporates, hotels and factories, members of the Sri Lanka police and security forces, prisons and educational institutions and rehabilitated ex combatants. We hope you will continue this effort to prevent HIV and maintain the good health of the workforce.”

As at end June, 101,061 persons were sensitised under the awareness campaign including businesses, hotels, security forces and police, prisons and educational institutions. The HIV and AID Awareness campaign covers topics including the nature of HIV and AIDS, how HIV can and cannot be transmitted, how it can be prevented or managed, discrimination faced by HIV positive persons, and how and where voluntary counselling and testing can be done.

The sustainability and impact of the awareness campaign has been largely due to the commitment and passion of the Group’s volunteer Master Trainers on HIV and AIDS, currently numbering 29 and representing various sectors and levels in the organisation. Underlining the importance of their contribution to the cause, John Keells Holdings Chairman Susantha Ratnayake stated, “I applaud the passion, commitment and hard work of our Master Trainers on HIV which has enabled us to sensitise 100,000 persons on HIV and AIDS. These staff volunteers have found the time to go out into the community and create much needed awareness on this important cause while balancing their work responsibilities. I would also like to acknowledge the unstinted support we have received from the NSACP, ILO and the EFC over the years.”

Over the past decade, John Keells HIV and AIDS Awareness Campaign has grown in terms of its reach and impact through the passion and dedication of John Keells staff volunteers, who strive to take their awareness to communities most vulnerable. Over the years, the project has recorded many milestones. In 2007, John Keells was the principal Sri Lankan corporate sponsor of the 8th ICAAP (International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific) held in Colombo. By 2009, John Keells started developing its own Master Trainers on HIV, based on the peer to peer model. 

In 2010, John Keells became the first private sector conglomerate in Sri Lanka to adopt the HIV and AIDS Workplace Policy based on the key principles of the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, focusing on aspects such as recognition of HIV as a workplace issue, non-discrimination and confidentiality relating to affected employees and sustained commitment to prevention of HIV and AIDS. John Keells was also featured in the ‘Best Practices by Private Sector in Disease Prevention and Management – South West Asia Region’ in 2010 compiled by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Friends of the Fund South and West Asia.

The most recent and novel initiative of the John Keells Group was the launch of an interactive web-based learning tool, which is available free of charge to any member of the public over the age of 18 years on the Group’s corporate social responsibility website (www.johnkeellsfoundation.com), effectively taking to the public domain the Group’s decade-long commitment to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS through education. The E-module comprises five modules that cover critical subjects including What is HIV and AIDS, How HIV is transmitted and not transmitted, How can HIV and AIDS be prevented, What are the treatments available, Stigma and Discrimination faced by persons living with HIV or AIDS, The policies on HIV and AIDS, and Where to seek help.  Due to the mature content and subject matter, only those over 18 years old will be permitted to access the e-module. The current version is available in English and Sinhala languages, while a Tamil version is in development.

The John Keells HIV and AIDS Awareness Campaign is offered free-of-charge to requesting organisations. The sessions are conducted by John Keells Master Trainers on HIV and AIDS who were certified by the ILO and EFC. For more information, visit their website – www.johnkeellsfoundation.com or call 011 2306172.