LBCH partners with ASMET to drive HIV/AIDS awareness

LBCH Chairperson NadijaTambiah(left) and ASMET President Sam Tegal at the MoU signing

The Lanka Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS (LBCH) recently signed a MoU with the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism Sri Lanka (ASMET) with the aim of promoting HIV&AIDS awareness among its members. ASMET President Sam Tegal signed the MOU on behalf of ASMET and LBCH Chairperson Nadija Tambiah, on behalf of LBCH. LBCH Director Ayomi Fernando and LBCH Coordinator Rukmani Rathnayake presented the services offered by LBCH and how the partnership with ASMET and LBCH is envisaged.

In terms of the MoU ASMET will provide access to its members in the leisure sector to the awareness sessions offered by LBCH. LBCH has been instrumental in conducting peer education and sensitisation programs free of charge for its member associations, with the aim of preventing the spread of HIV&AIDS in the country. The 2015 LBCH focus has been on the hotels and tourism sector, due to its higher vulnerability. 

LBCH has already initiated several training/ awareness creation programs for this sector. Working with ASMET provides an important opportunity for the LBCH to reach a larger number of businesses involved in this sector, as well as to target communities and persons connected with the industry who may be especially at risk.  

LBCH is a non-profit coalition of individual corporates, which has partnered with organisations such as the National STD/AIDS Control Program of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour, ILO, UNAIDS, Chambers of Commerce, the Hotel Association in Sri Lanka and Employers’ Federation of Ceylon to address the critical issue of HIV and AIDS awareness and prevention. Many leading corporates in Sri Lanka are members of LBCH, recognising both the need for the corporate sector to play a role in maintaining Sri Lanka’s current low HIV prevalence rate and their own responsibility to safeguard the health, safety and well being of their own employees. 

Sam Tegal said that HIV and AIDS is national problem and all we need to join hands together to overcome this issue. Further he requested his members to take advantage of the MOU entered into between the two bodies, to take the message of HIV awareness and prevention to a wide audience.