Keeping workers safe at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project (GERD-P) site is not limited to hard-hats and well-maintained machines.

It also requires providing workers the information and products they need to stay safe during non-work hours, including from HIV.

DKT Ethiopia, Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), and the Federal HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office (HAPCO) recently renewed their agreement to continue a workplace HIV-prevention activity at the GERD-P site and nearby Bamza Town. The agreement, which was signed in September 2015, entails the provision of condoms, peer educator training, and promotional activities.

“We are honored to be one of the few organizations selected to work at GERD-P,” says Rory Harrington, DKT Ethiopia’s Country Director.

“We take seriously our responsibility to help workers and the surrounding community stay healthy and continue contributing to this important work.”

The collaboration between DKT, EEP, and HAPCO goes back several years to a number of federal and regional sites. DKT has been working at GERD-P since 2012.

Since renewing the agreement, the partners jointly celebrated World AIDS Day in 2015 with 5,000 workers as well as 500 community members from Bamza Town. DKT also trained 86 peer educators and distributed 70,000 condoms in the second half of the year.

Contact Yenenesh Tarekegn.