JKH to the fore in combating HIV/AIDS

John Keells Social Responsibility Foundation, the CSR arm of John Keells Holdings PLC, is spearheading an island wide awareness campaign to educate locals on the potential impact of HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka. The JKH HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign is a comprehensive, 3-phase programme launched in 2005 and is the first such campaign to be undertaken by a local corporate in Sri Lanka.

The awareness project aims to inform people about the medical aspects of the disease while at the same time increasing their sensitivity towards the human/social dimension. The project is carried out in collaboration with the National STD/AIDS Control Programme of the Ministry of Health, International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the company said.

The first phase of the initiative (2005/06 and 2006/07) was dedicated to building awareness among the staff of John Keells Group companies. The awareness programmes were devised to create awareness of HIV/AIDS, how it spreads and how it can be controlled as well as addressing the discrimination and stigma faced by HIV Positive people.

The focus of the second phase (2006/07 and 2007/08) is on building awareness in the various high-risk business environments. Along with this JKH also came in as principal Sri Lankan corporate sponsor of the 8th ICAAP (International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific) that concluded in Colombo on Thursday.