Epidemiology
According to the AIDS in Ethiopia 6th Report, HIV was first detected in Ethiopia in 1984 and the first two AIDS cases were reported in 1986. HIV and AIDS surveillance activities began in 1989 after the establishment of a national HIV and AIDS taskforce within Ministry of Health in 1987.
The national HIV prevalence estimate for 2008 was determined at 2.2%; the prevalence estimate for rural and urban Ethiopia constitutes 0.9% and 7.7% respectively. For details of the estimate see www.etharc.org. Recent studies concluded that HIV and AIDS epidemic in Ethiopia continues to affect all segment of society.
National plans
The government of Ethiopia has taken a number of policy actions aimed at guiding the overall response to HIV and AIDS epidemic. The Strategic Plan for the Multi-Sectoral HIV and AIDS response for a period of 2004-2008 recognizes seven complementary themes for intervention. These are: (i) capacity building; (ii) HIV and AIDS prevention and control; (iii) legal and human rights; (iv) integration of interventions of HIV and AIDS with health programs; (v) leadership and mainstreaming; (vi) coordination and networking; (vii) addressing special target groups.
Available evidences confirm that significant achievements have been made in the areas of social mobilization and awareness raising on HIV and AIDS; formulation of policies and guidelines pertaining to improve program implementation; installing systems; scaling up services like VCT, ART, and PMTCT, etc. Positive trends have also been observed in the reduction of stigma and discrimination. There has been increased advocacy for policy and legal issues regarding the rights of People Living with HIV and AIDS. Community participation and ownership of the response has emerged and taken up momentum.
HIV and AIDS in the workplace
Despite all the achievements mentioned above, the Ethiopian public, business and non-profit sectors have not yet seriously taken up the issues of HIV and AIDS in their workplace. HIV and AIDS intervention in the workplace is an integral part of the overall strategy opted to curb the impact, prevalence and new infection of HIV and AIDS. With this understanding, the STOP AIDS NOW! Ethiopia Project has been initiated to enable Ethiopian NGOs to better understand and take informed decision on how HIV and AIDS impacts their organization and in turn, how they impact HIV and AIDS in their internal organizational context.
