Guyana Business Collation on HIV/AIDS -  2008 Awardee for Business Excellence
The Core Competency Award


The Guyana Rice Development Board recognized that HIV/AIDS poses a major threat not only to the rice industry but also to its most valuable resources – its employees, clients and their families. The Board drafted and adopted a policy on HIV/AIDS and implemented an HIV/AIDS Workplace Programme in 2007.

Forty nine employees comprising of the General Manager, Senior Managers, Regional Officers, Office and Field Staff have been trained as peer educators and counselors and are actively involved in conducting awareness sessions. HIV/AIDS education is now part of all the Board’s training programmes for employees, stakeholders and local communities.

The Board has encouraged openness to discussions about HIV/AIDS and other health issues and acceptance and tolerance for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS has improved. The Board conducts one-off and multi-session tailored awareness programmes in the farming communities. A total of 6,500 farmers and theirs families have been reached over the last two years.