Brunei's Local News - Brudirect.com

Bandar Seri Begawan - HIV does not only affect the community but also the development of a country.

This was stressed by Standard Chartered Bank Corporate Affairs Head Jennifer Kang during an awareness talk on "Living with HIV" for over 50 officers and staff of BAG Networks yesterday at the Ministry of Finance.

"We are not winning the war on HIV. For every one person who goes into treatment, six others become infected. Therefore, prevention is vital if we are to stop the spread of the disease," Kang said. "That is why Standard Chartered has committed to the Clinton Global Initiative to educate one million people on HIV/AIDS by 2010."

She also said, "Our response to HIV/AIDS reflects our values, which drive all our actions and are

fundamental to becoming the world's best international bank."

To commemorate World AIDS Day this year, Standard Chartered Bank Brunei is actively rolling out its HIV educational sessions to partners and the community.

Throughout last week, the bank shared facts on HIV/AIDS with customers through an educational board at its main branch.

The bank also conducted three HIV awareness sessions externally for its partners, reaching out to more than 60 people, with more sessions planned for this week.

Standard Chartered also recently collaborated with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council in educating over 1,000 students, 350 community nurses and all its staff members.

Other organisations and institutions that are interested in the HIV/ AIDS awareness programme can contact Standard Chartered Bank through its Corporate Affairs Department at 236 6055 or 236 6024.

For further information on HIV/AIDS, visit the bank's website at www.standardchartered.com/bn.

Meanwhile, yesterday's session for BAG officers and staff was led by Standard Chartered Bank Management Trainee Lim Chee Boon, during which he covered facts on HIV and AIDS, as well as ways of protecting oneself from it.

The interactive session also provided the participants with an opportunity to engage themselves in interesting and thought-provoking activities.

As part of BAG Networks' weekly programme, "Knowledge Sharing", said its coordinator Pengiran Emran, "a good example of supporting our core value of respect is to introduce HIV awareness to all staff members". -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin