Bridges of Hope in the fight against HIV-AIDS

which is celebrated on December 1st, Standard Bank promoted several activities related to the project “Bridges of Hope”, which aims to increase awareness and educate employees, customers and the public in general on issues related to HIV / AIDS.The activities promoted by this project strive to change people’s behavior on all aspects related to the prevention, voluntary testing and treatment, on a pursuit for a positive lifestyle.At country level, the activities held, consisted on practical exercises designed to “touch hearts,” sensitizing people to actively participate in the fight against HIV / AIDS, adapting messages on fighting and preventing from this pandemic related to the reality of every individual, in a practical way.According to Isabel Bretes, manager of Quality of Life at Work and Communication from Standard Bank, “with this initiative we intend to show our solidarity to those infected and affected by this disease”.“Every year, Standard Bank develops a campaign that focuses on the fight and prevention from HIV/AIDS on all agencies throughout the country, that aims to sensitize employees, their relatives and the public in general on its prevention and treatment”, explained Isabel Bretes.Isabel Bretes further explained that “we have also been running campaigns for voluntary counseling and testing, which are held throughout the year, for which the adherence has been increasing: last year the adherence was 48% and this year, despite the fact that the testing process is still being held, we have already registered 60.2% of adherence”.