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NABCOA hosts HIV and Wellness conference

NABCOA will in April host a two-day HIV and Wellness conference that will bring together government, the private sector and other development partners in the fight against HIV in the workplace.
Renowned, national and international speakers are expected to address the conference which will be held under the theme “Impact, Partnership and Sustainability”on 18 to 19 April
NABCOA is a membership-based organisation that creates and supports mitigation strategies against HIV/AIDS for corporate workplaces in the country. The organisation has been in operation for over seven years, and members receive services that range from HIV programme development, implementation and monitoring, peer education training and general wellness screening.
Member base ranges from manufacturing companies; financial institutions, fuel companies, mines; hospitality; service industry; SMEs; local authorities and others. Consequential to NABCOA and other similar programme implementers, changing trends, practices and research in this field, institutions including health/medical schemes have since identified the need of lifestyle changes as a best practice to the reduction of illnesses and other chronic diseases including HIV/AIDS.
Wellness has then become an important element when addressing HIV/AIDS.
With the major development partners pulling HIV/AIDS funds from Namibia,NABCOA says it is important for private sector to focus on embedding HIV into their overall corporate wellness programmes to benefit the public, private and civil society.
It added that Namibia’s classification as a high middle income country, also make it more urgent for all partners to find intervention solutions for HIV/Health at the workplace to ensure past gains achieved as a result of major development funds by PEPFAR; Global Fund and others are not in vain.
It is through this conference that NABCOA would like to bring together all partners, members, non-members, development funding agencies and other institutions that are part of the strategy on the prevalence of HIV and wellness at the workplace in Namibia, to deliberate on issues, challenges, the successes so far and how all can work towards a sustainable programme delivery to the private sector.

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