Pacific Islands Aids Foundation

Speaking at the closing ceremony was Minister for Health and Medical Services, Dr Kautu Tenawa.

Dr Tenewa thanked PIAF for choosing Kiribati as the first country to run this workshop and praised the participants for taking the lead in learning about the rights of People Living with HIV (PLHIV).

“When we find something hard, new or abnormal, we prefer to push it aside. Like TB and leprosy, HIV continues to receive the same reaction from people,” he said. However, “now that we have HIV specific Human Rights trainers, the perception that people in Kiribati used to have about HIV will improve for the better.”

Dr Tenewa recognizes that Kirbati currently does not have legal protection for PLHIV under their law but is adamant that with the continued partnership with PIAF and UNFPA who will be supporting a future training workshop for parliamentarians, something positive will eventuate.

He has invited the PIAF team to return at the end of the year to be part of the consultation for their assessment as to what they will need to address the lack of legal protection for PLHIV, whether it will be a Disability Law, Anti-Discrimination Law or a Public Health Law.

The HIV specific Human Rights Training of Trainers workshop in Kiribati ended on May 7th with plans for a similar workshop in Tonga already underway.

It was trialled by PIAF in Fiji between 2009 and 2010 as part of their TOT series of workshops offered with the HIV Workplace Policy Formulation Process.//ENDS

For more information, contact:

Esther C. Sibona
Communications Officer
Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Phone: +682 23103  ll  Fax: +682 23102
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   ll  Website: www.pacificaids.org