Praxis Note 45. Responding to HIV in the Workplace: The successes and challenges of working through an HIV focal point person

Change does not come easily in organisations. We need champions to make it happen – individuals with dedication, vision and ability to trigger action in others. Through our experiences as a capacity building provider CDRN has recognised that champions are key in helping organisations to respond to HIV and AIDS in the workplace.

We encourage all organisations to appoint an HIV focal point person to take the lead in the mainstreaming process. Yet, our experiences have also shown that being a champion is not always easy and straightforward. Focal point persons face many challenges. To be able to support them better, we need to understand the challenges they face.

This note discusses the lessons that CDRN learnt when working through an HIV focal point person to help organisations respond to HIV and AIDS.