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ILO to Launch New Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS
Director-General of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Juan Somavia plans to formally launch a pioneering Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS in New York on June 25 to 27.
According to the ILO press release issued in Geneva Friday, the ILO Code of practice will provide workers, employers and governments with new global guidelines for addressing HIV/AIDS based on international labor standards.
It will also help boost efforts to prevent the spread of HIV, manage its impact and provide care and support or those suffering from its effects.
"The code focuses on the world of work because so many people with HIV can be found there," Somavia said. "Of the 36 million people infected with HIV worldwide, we estimate at least 23 million, or three-quarters, are working people aged 15-49, people in the prime of their lives."
New ILO data prepared for the AIDS session show that of the estimated 23 million working people suffering HIV/AIDS, about 17.5 million are in 43 African countries, 3.5 million people in Asia, 700,000 in North America, 543,00 in Europe and the rest are in Caribbean and Latin America.
The press release said that the code is part of new ILO efforts to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS in the workplace.
Somavia noted that AIDS and HIV affect people at all levels of society, especially the most economically active member of society, therefore, AIDS is not only a workplace issue, but a challenge to development worldwide.
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