Global workforce could be devastated by AIDS

HIV/AIDS is holding back economic growth and putting a massive strain on workers in some of the world's poorest nations, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said.

The first global analysis of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the workplace by the UN's labour agency estimates the disease could claim the lives of some 28 million working people by the end of 2005.

By 2015 the number of AIDS-related deaths will have reached 74 million world wide, and sub-Saharan Africa will have lost 12 percent of its workforce.

"HIV/AIDS is not only a human crisis, it is a threat to sustainable global social and economic development," ILO director-general Juan Somavia said in a statement.

"The loss of life and the debilitating effects of the illness will lead not only to a reduced capacity to sustain production and employment, reduce poverty and promote development, but will be a burden borne by all societies - rich and poor alike," Somavia cautioned.

The 99-page report, "HIV/AIDS and Work", says 26 million of the 35.7 million people estimated by UNAIDS to be HIV-positive, are workers.

At any one time, around 2 million people will be unable to work because of the disease, while another 2 million will have to give up their work to look after their ill, the analysis pointed out.

In the countries examined by the ILO, the pandemic is expected to have a severe impact on the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) by destroying "human capital" built up over the years and diminishing the capacity of workers and employers to produce goods and services.

Although the report underscores the dramatic impact of HIV/AIDS on the labour force, rural societies and the economy, it stresses that the workplace also holds extraordinary promise as part of the solution.

"The workplace is an ideal medium for a comprehensive approach to HIV/AIDS. Work provides a venue - the workplace - where talking about HIV/AIDS is especially relevant; where prevention skills can be directly transmitted; and where treatment can be exceptionally productive," Odile Frank, coordinator of the report, confirmed.

The report was presented at the start of the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, which began on 11 July.