Since 2011, AgroAmerica has been implementing preventive HIV actions and policies corporately, with the aim of preventing the disease in its workers, their families, and communities. The company’s current HIV/AIDS policies protect the rights of those infected, discourage discrimination, ensure confidentially is kept and provide necessary support. Prevention is promoted through their training program, ‘Hand to Hand with HIV Prevention’ which emphasizes AgroAmerica’s stance on raising awareness about HIV/AIDS for its employees, their families, and communities.
To date, more than 165 workshops on HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention have been held for their workers and community leaders. In 2015 alone, over 900 AgroAmerica employees were trained on HIV/AIDS related topics. In total, AgroAmerica has trained 6,795 employees and community leaders on HIV/AIDS prevention since 2012.
The program, in alliance with government institutions and NGOs, offers free HIV testing and provides education workshops. Additionally, training programs are offered in the AgroAmerica packing plants and fields in the southwest and southern coasts of Guatemala. The programs cover the topics of: HIV awareness, technical concepts, human values, HIV transmission, self-esteem, respect and tolerance towards people with HIV.
Providing education and overall HIV/AIDS awareness for their employees is just one aspect of AgroAmerica’s mission. “We set up this program because we want to support our employees, their families and their communities. The community has very little knowledge about how to prevent and treat the disease. We understand that by providing our employees with access to information, they will better understand this disease, which in turn will empower them to make informed and responsible choices,” says AgroAmerica’s Corporate Director Bernhard Roehrs.
AgroAmerica plans on continuing their efforts in order to positively and powerfully impact the lives of their employees and their communities. For more information about AgroAmerica, please visit their website, http://www.agroamerica.com.
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Allison Tebbano