‘MAN AWARE’ ON THE MOVE

The National HIV/AIDS Commission will be making its presence felt across barber shops through its “Man Aware” programme.

The informal HIV programme, which officially launched in 2016, targets and engages Barbadian males about HIV prevention and awareness.

Behaviour Change Specialist at the Commission, Cecelia Neblett-Murray, believes the barber shop is the ideal environment to reach out to the male population.
She noted that so far, approximately 25 barbers have embraced the initiative.

“We are going into the barber shops/salons educating their clients on HIV and STI preventions. This is the space where you have a lot of conversation, so we thought it would be a great area to take ‘Man Aware’,” she stated.

To prepare the barbers, Neblett-Murray revealed that on Monday, September 25, the men will gather at the National HIV/AIDS Commission for training.
“We will give them some basic tips and tools. So, we are going to train them, answer their questions; see how much they know and let them see their responsibility and their role as ambassadors for the HIV/AIDS Commission,” she explained.

“Man Aware” is only one of the many programmes initiated by the National HIV/AIDS Commission which has been striving to ensure that all Barbadians are empowered to respond effectively to the threat posed by HIV/AIDS to the sustainable development of the nation.

The Behavioural Change Specialist highlighted that among the key populations targeted are transgender, youth and the elderly.

Reaching out to older Barbadians, the Commission will be heading to the popular “Q in the Community” events to reinforce their messages to that population and make sure that they have the tools to make safe and responsible decisions.

Neblett-Murray was speaking to The Barbados Advocate on the side-lines of the 2017 launch of the Transition to Secondary School (T2S) Programme.
T2S equips first form students across Barbados with the skills to make a successful transition from the primary to secondary school environment. She expressed that the programme has the potential to reduce the negative experiences commonly familiar to those entering secondary school.

She also highlighted research being conducted by Unri Babb, T2S Ministry of Education Consultant, on behalf of the National HIV/AIDS commission, concerning issues such as Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP).

“He is currently conducting that research by going out into the communities… so we can actually measure the knowledge and practices of persons in communities, so that we can best tailor our programmes with this research. We just don’t carry out programmes; we want to go out and make sure that we target the areas that we need to target,” Neblett-Murray said.