FPA Sri Lanka has partnered with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to assist them with their Voluntary Counselling and Testing @ Work (VCT@Work) Initiative. Globally, the ILO intends to test 5 million workers for HIV. Sri Lanka, as a part of this drive, will educate and test thousands from the selected sectors of its worksforce.

At FPA Sri Lanka we have focused on two areas for this project; EPZ Katunyake and the hotels in and around Bentota.

So far, in both sectors we have conducted Peer Educator Trainings in August and September where staff members have been educated on HIV, its spread, protection and how to talk about the topic with friends.These participants were given informative leaflets and other material in order to have discussions promoting awareness and testing among their peers. Currently, we are conducting mobile clinics in various hotels for the benefit of the staff. We have also created a comic story that will soon appear in newspapers in order to further get the message out that it is important to get tested and to use protection. If someone knows their positive status early, they can get treatment that will allow them to lead a normal and productive life. HIV is not a huge problem in Sri Lanka yet, and with these efforts we hope to keep it that way!