Search
  1. Home
  2. Africa
  • News

UN seeks to protect healthcare workers against AIDS

    JOHANNESBURG

    Two UN agencies are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to develop new guidelines for the safety of health care workers busy with the global fight against HIV/AIDS.

    The joint International Labour Organisation (ILO) and World Health Organisation guidelines will offer specific ways to protect, train and educate workers, while addressing issues such as testing, treatment, confidentiality, occupational risk and prevention.

    Susan Maybud, an ILO health services specialist, said in a statement: "In the world of work, clear guidelines are among the most effective ways to reduce the transmission of HIV and other blood-borne viruses, and to improve the delivery of care to patients."

    The ILO also warned that, in the absence of increased antiretroviral treatment, the global healthcare workforce could lose an estimated 28 million staff to AIDS-related illnesses by the end of 2005.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join