The ILO calls for greater mobilization to tackle the problem of AIDS in the workplace

"We need to mobilize, mobilize and mobilize again", ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said at a joint meeting with UNAIDS on Saturday 6 May in Brasilia.

"The challenge facing us is to make the workplace a place of protection, a place of prevention, care and hope at the very heart of our response to HIV and AIDS", Mr. Somavia added. Since June 2005, the ILO's Director-General has chaired the UNAIDS Committee of Cosponsoring Organizations.

About 2 million people live with the virus in Latin America and the Caribbean and some 600,000 have died from its effects in the last 20 years. Delegates at the meeting on AIDS and the world of work in Latin America and the Caribbean heard that according to some estimates, about 500 people contract the virus every day in the region.

Eight ministers from Latin America and the Caribbean, government delegates from more than 20 countries in the region, representatives of employers' and workers' organizations, as well as representatives of United Nations agencies, attended the meeting, which took place immediately after the ILO's Sixteenth American Regional Meeting in the Brazilian capital.

"The workplace reflects society2, Mr. Somavia said, adding that "the logic behind the ILO's committment is clear: the pandemic strikes hardest at people of working age". According to data reported at the meeting, some 36 million people of working age are affected by HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Somavia recalled that 25 years ago, on 5 June 1981, an historic article was published describing the features of a new illness which was soon to be spoken of as a pandemic. "We know that this is not just a health issue, because it has an impact on society as a whole; it is also an issue of living with one another, of tolerance".

The meeting in Brasilia included discussions on initiatives to deal with HIVS/AIDS at the workplace, as well as possible mechanisms for follow-up and exchanging experiences. Delegates were also told about measures which govenments, employers and workers - the three constituencies represented by the ILO - might adopt.

Since 2000, there has been an ILO/AIDS programme dedicated to meeting the challenges created by the pandemic at the workplace. It works in collaboration with national efforts in more than 40 countries.

The ILO has also published a code of practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work.

Mr. Somavia noted that one of the major challenges was combating discrimination, one of the fundamental principles of the Decent Work Agenda promoted by the ILO. This is regarded as crucial to safeguarding the employment of people affected by HIV/AIDS and ensuring that they have access to adequate and appropriate medical treatment.

He said that "it is possible to contribute to efforts to eradicate fear, mistrust, stigma and discrimination".

Action at the workplace is also considered essential in improving prevention through education and through practical support measures aimed at helping workers and ensuring that they receive care and treatment.

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For more information on ILO/AIDS please refer to the following web site: www.ilo.org/aids.

For information on the meeting held in Brasilia journalists may contact Severino Goes of the ILO press department, tel. +5561/9981-2187.