The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Ghana has organised a health walk to observe world AIDS day which is celebrated on the 1st December of every year. The walk started from the country office through designated streets at the airport residential area and back to the country office.
All GIZ staff from the various projects and programs was available to distribute flyers and posters as well as male and female condoms to motorists and the general public. There was a short sketch to educate staff on HIV/AIDS which was followed by a testimony from a woman who has lived with HIV for seven years.
The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Getting to zero; end Aids by 2030’.
Fighting HIV/AIDS is crucial to GIZ’s cause. ”As an organization with worldwide operations, GIZ bears a great responsibility in the fight against HIV/AIDS” says Siegfried Leffler, Country Director of GIZ Ghana. This includes supporting HIV workplace programmes.
On behalf of the German Government, GIZ has supported the Ghanaian health system through complex, complementary and integrated interventions, and most notably pioneered the establishment of the workplace programs which are beneficial to both employers and employees. These programmes encourage a healthier lifestyle and help to reduce sick leave and absenteeism as well as save money on health care expenses and improve the overall productivity of companies. GIZ also supported the national programs to tackle HIV & AIDS including the prevention of transmission of HIV from mother to child.
GIZ’s HIV/AIDS Workplace Programme is focused on prevention, education, treatment and support for those affected. “We aim at enhancing the knowledge of our staff members about the risk of contamination and possibilities for protection as well as creating a workplace without exclusion and discrimination” Mr Leffler adds. In Ghana, GIZ works with 192 staff members, 137 of whom are national personnel.
Currently, GIZ promotes sustainable development in Ghana via 41 programmes and projects. Our activities cover currently three priority areas: Agriculture, Governance and Sustainable Economic Development. Additionally, our portfolio extends to other areas such as peace and security and renewable energy. Another focus of GIZ’s work is linking business interests with development-policy goals. Most of the programmes and projects we support in Ghana have successfully brought together national and international private companies, the public sector, and civil society groups to collaborate on development initiatives.
As a service provider with worldwide operations in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development, GIZ works together with its partners to develop effective solutions that offer people better prospects and sustainably improve their living conditions. GIZ is a public-benefit federal enterprise and supports the German Government as well as many public and private sector clients in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment, energy and the environment, and peace and security.
Related Posts
