Participants at the Health Camps in Eastern Uganda
As part of the week-long health awareness campaign in Eastern Uganda, on Wednesday December 15and Thursday December 16, 2021 the Judiciary conducted health camps with an emphasis on HIV/Aids for its staff working in courts under Tororo and Soroti High Court Circuits.
The Registrar Planning, Research and Development, HW Amos Kwizera who represented the Under Secretary who doubles as the Chairperson of the Judiciary HIV Aids Committee, said the campaign is part of the institution’s efforts to fight HIV stigma at the workplace. Further, to encourage voluntary testing for all its staff while promoting healthy living.
"We are preaching the gospel to our staff on how they should live to stay safe, how to relate with colleagues living with HIV and with the people in the host communities who are our clients," he said.
Adding that if staff declare their status, the Judiciary offers them both financial and social support while the clients living with HIV are given first priority while at court including considering it as a factor when granting bail.
The HIV Committee handed over kits with an assortment of materials that included copies of sensitization materials to the Chief Magistrate of Tororo HW Ajuna Doreen and Assistant Registrar Soroti High Court, HW Jessica Chemeri who in turn handed the same to different judicial officers from the sub courts.
Other activities carried out during these camps included testimonies on positive living, awareness on HIV/AIDS, checkups, voluntary counseling and testing, COVID vaccination, blood donation and radio talk shows among others.
Ms Sarah Khanakwa the head of Resources and Grants at the Uganda AIDS Commission, commended this initiative "We intend to use the Judiciary as a case study so that other MDAs can emulate how you're mainstreaming HIV activities in the Judiciary." She says this is one of the ways Uganda will manage to end the HIV pandemic by 2030as per the presidential directive.
Similarly, Dr Stephen Watiti one of the facilitators urged "all MDAs to emulate the Judiciary to have workplace policies on HIV and operationalize them." While Dr Elizabeth Kasirye Omangino from the Ministry of Health implored the participants to embrace theopportunity to screen for HIV to know their status.
The Judiciary Principal Human Resource Officer, Ms Akello Suzan Harriet, took the participants through the HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy. She said this is intended to "promote and protect the human rights of the workforce living with HIV/AIDS in the Judiciary and sets up goals on how to create an HIV aware cadre.
In Soroti, Hon Bob Owiny, who represented the LCV Chairperson of Soroti District equally called upon the Government to follow the example set by Judiciary. "All government agencies must copy from Judiciary and have a component about fighting HIV/AIDS in their welfare programmes."
Mr Urykwun Walter, on behalf of the Tororo LC5 Chairperson, pledged to support the Court in the fight against pandemics.
HW Ajuna Doreen thanked the Judiciary administration for the supporting initiatives geared towards improving staff health and well-being. She then implored the participants to utilize the services.
HW Jessica Chemeri noted that she had learnt a lot from the presentations, and urged staff to strive towards behavior change while desisting from any form of stigma. "After today we must leave stigma behind and use this information on how to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS," she said.
Members of the hosting communities were granted access to medical checkups and counselling services.
Posted 17th, December 2021
