- From Monday, 1 to Friday, 5 June, 2015 in the North Kivu provincial capital, Goma, some twenty five military officers from the Indian Battalion (INDBATT-1) attended a five-day training workshop on HIV Peer Education organized by MONUSCO HIV/AIDS Unit in collaboration with the Military Training Cell.

The training which took place within the framework of a continuous preventive campaign put in place by MONUSCO HIV/AIDS Unit was aimed at bringing a sustainable preventive and awareness strategy to the military within the Mission Area.

Peer Education in the domain of HIV and AIDS, it should be noted, is instrumental in promoting sustainable HIV awareness as it covers a wide range of training programme. The trainees would then ensure the promotion of the awareness campaign by using the knowledge acquired from the training workshop to their peers within the Mission Area and even beyond.

This training workshop did provide a forum for the INDBATT-1 military officials to recognize Peer Educators as champions in the fight against HIV and AIDS - an opportunity that could be enhanced in similar preventive campaign activities.

Beyond the training workshops for Peer Educators, it should be recalled that MONUSCO, through its HIV/AIDS Unit is committed to the fight against this pandemic within the Mission Area – and a series of preventive and awareness activities has been put in place to effectively fight AIDS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.