DUSHANBE, June 6, 2013, Asia-Plus -- UNAIDS and the ILO are launching new initiative to provide 5 million working women and men with voluntary and confidential HIV counseling and testing (VCT@WORK) by 2015, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reports.

ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, and UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibe, are launching the ILO’s VCT@WORK initiative today.

Mr. Ryder and Mr. Sidibe will be joined by Jacqueline Mugo, Director, Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and Luc Cortebeeck, President of the Confederation des Syndicats Chretiens.

VCT@WORK is the ILO’s contribution to achieving Millennium Development Goal 6 on combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases, which includes the target of ensuring access to treatment for 15 million people living with HIV by 2015, as set out in the 2011 UN General Assembly Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS.

According to UNAIDS, it is estimated that seven million people are currently eligible for treatment, but are not accessing it.  The majority of them do not know their HIV status.  The workplace is an ideal entry point to generate a demand for, and increased access to, testing and treatment.

While standing firmly by the principle that there should be no HIV screening for employment purposes, the ILO’s VCT@WORK initiative re-energizes voluntary testing and emphasizes the right of workers to know their status and access treatment when needed.

The ILO’s employer and worker social partners will play a key role as agents of change to normalize and demystify HIV testing in the implementation of the initiative at the country level.

The launch of the initiative takes place during the ILO International Labor Conference in Geneva, which brings together around 5,000 delegates representing governments, employers and workers from the ILO’s 185 Member States to discuss issues including social protection in an ageing world, sustainable development and social dialogue.