“The social service workforce plays a critical role in our [UNAIDS] mission of zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero AIDS-related stigma and discrimination,” said David Chipanta, Senior Advisor Social Protection, UNAIDS, during his opening remarks of the “World Social Work Day Webinar: Celebrating Success in Social Service Workforce Strengthening.
The Global Social Service Workforce Alliance hosted the webinar with PEPFAR, USAID and UNAIDs, and it’s the 19th webinar in a series in collaboration with IntraHealth International and the 4Children Project. Presenters from USAID Ethiopia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe shared key factors and best practices from their experiences of strengthening the social service workforce and improving outcomes of HIV-affected children and families. The three presenters shared their approaches for increasing training, building collaboration with the government and other organizations, and improving HIV treatment access and adherence through development of the social service workforce. Participants of the webinar were from a range of organizations around the world. A recording and summary of the webinar is available on the Alliance’s website.
The webinar was one of many activities taking place globally in celebration of the 2015 World Social Work Day on March 17. Participants from around the world attended conferences, joined webinars, shared messages via social media and held advocacy events with local governments. The day was an occasion to share the 2015 theme: ‘Promoting the Dignity and Worth of Peoples,’ which relates to the second pillar of the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development. The theme focuses on the joint work of The International Federation of Social Workers, The International Association of Schools of Social Work and The International Council on Social Welfare.
In Geneva, UNAIDS hosted a conference to join UNAIDS with social work organizations in an effort to achieve the goal zero AIDS by 2030. “Ending AIDS, Promoting Dignity and Respect for All” celebrated the achievements thus far and further explored methods for collaborating on inclusion of vulnerable, marginalized and excluded populations.
“People living with HIV and people most affected by HIV have multiple and often intractable needs that no one sector can provide effectively. The social work profession and social protection programmes connect people to services and make services work for people,” said Mariângela Simão, Director, Rights, Gender, Prevention and Community Mobilization, UNAIDS.
More than 110 attendees gathered in Geneva and participated via the live webcast. A summary of the event is available on UNAIDs website. PEPFAR has also launched a webpage about the social service workforce.
In Washington, D.C., students, academia, organizations and social workers came together for an event titled "Engaging Congress in the Pursuit of Social Justice." Sponsored by the National Association of Social Work (U.S.) and the U.S. Social Work Congressional Caucus and the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy, the event was held to advocate to the U.S. government in support of a current proposed law in support of social workers.
In Bujumbura, Burundi, students from across the country gathered for a conference hosted by the Social Work and Community Department of Hope Africa University.
Additional news from the 2015 World Social Work Day can be found at #socialworkday.
