Biomedical effort needed to tackle HIV/AIDS
25 June 2008
The AVI-VSO partnership is now recruiting Australians to train
staff and students in the management of anti-retroviral therapy
programs and HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis testing protocols for
clinical diagnosis services in Tanzania.
Australian biomedical scientists and
laboratory officers are being recruited to join the fight against
HIV/AIDS in eastern Africa.
In partnership with United Kingdom
volunteer agency VSO, Australian Volunteers International (AVI) is
now recruiting Australians to train staff and students in the
management of anti-retroviral therapy programs and HIV/AIDS and
tuberculosis testing protocols for clinical diagnosis services in
Tanzania.
"Successful applicants will play a
significant part in VSO's strategic response to tackling the HIV
and AIDS pandemic in Africa," said Aarathi Krishnan, AVI Project
Coordinator for the VSO partnership.
"This response includes combating
stigma, supporting prevention, and increasing the availability of
care and support for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS."
The first cases of HIV/AIDS in
Tanzania were reported in the early 1980s, and the infection rate
currently ranges from less than three per to over 44.4 per cent in
certain regions. Most Tanzanian families have been affected by the
epidemic, which impacts right across the country's
development.1
It is essential that people applying
for the biomedical scientist and laboratory officer positions are
registered biomedical scientists, have between two to three years
experience in a clinical hospital environment, some teaching
experience and a knowledge of treatment issues in the HIV/AIDS
sector.
"We will also be looking for
applicants that have a willingness to learn the local language,
patience, tolerance and cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity,"
Ms Krishnan said.
Successful applicants will be working
on VSO volunteer assignment. Project positions will be up to two
years in length. All volunteers receive flights, visas, insurance,
accommodation and living allowances, pre-departure training, as
well as in-country language training and support.
For more information on these
assignments, contact Aarathi Krishnan at 03 9279 1727 or akrishnan@australianvolunteers.com.
Find out more about the AVI/VSO
Partnership here.
- Ends -
Contact:
Christine Crosby
Publicity and Media Liaison
Australian Volunteers International,
Phone: +61 (0)3 9279 1763
Email: ccrosby@australianvolunteers.com
1Source: http://www.tanzania.go.tz/hiv_aids.html