Health care workers on St. Maarten recently completed, and received a certificate for completion of an HIV [e] Education workshop, organized by the Island Government’s HIV/AIDS Program Management Team, managed by Program Manager Suzette Moses.
The group took part in two days (Friday and Saturday) of intense interactive activities, while the third day was at the Claude Wathey Legislative Hall, which culminated with the handing out of certificates.
Welcoming the group and saying a few words was Moses, who was pleased to host the group but as well spread more specific program information about how to deal with HIV/AIDS infected persons more effectively.
Moses said that "We are here after 3 months, some have finished the workbooks via the internet, while others not, including myself, but we need to continue, and hopefully this workshop will give us the inspiration for doing so. Also, during the workshop, it is important for you to give your feedback so that we could improve and/or fine tune the workshop."
And improving is crucial, especially as the red campaign goes into its 3rd year when testing will be done. These numbers will give us a more accurate account of the HIV/AIDS situation on St. Maarten. From this point we can really have a basis from which to work and further develop policy, Moses said.
The aim of HIV Education is to provide healthcare workers with complete and updated information on all aspects of treatment and care for patients with HIV/AIDS.
The organization charged with the workshop is Health[e]Foundation, which is a not-for-profit organization based in Amsterdam, established in the belief that a good healthcare system is essential for sound socio-economic growth in developing countries. It focuses on sustainable methods of training and educating healthcare workers on treatment and prevention of communicable and poverty-related diseases by means of a distance-based e-learning system.
Present at the meeting were health care workers from different fields, Medical Doctors, Nurses, Sector Health Care, Lab, among others in the health profession.