26% of workforce could be lost to AIDS

NAMIBIA is expected to lose 26 per cent of its work force in the next 15 years – up from three per cent four years ago.

In a new report released at the Bangkok AIDS conference yesterday, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said that the disease would weaken the capacity of workers and employers to produce goods and services for economies. The report said about 152 400 people in Namibia’s labour force were HIV positive by the end of last year, while life expectancy had dropped to 44 years.HIV-AIDS would have a severe impact on Namibia’s economic growth rate by destroying the “human capital” built up over years, it noted.The ILO said the costs of the disease for enterprises of all sizes was becoming clearer year by year.It estimates that in the absence of increased access to treatment, the number of workers lost because of AIDS would increase dramatically, making the disease one of the biggest causes of mortality in the world of work.Namibian companies were also faced with huge burdens.The report said studies had shown that one coping strategy was to adjust costs downwards by altering employee contracts and benefits.”Some companies have outsourced production activities, shifted from labour-intensive technologies, or attempted to avoid hiring new employees who may be HIV positive,” it said of examples elsewhere.”HIV-AIDS is not only a human crisis, it is a threat to sustainable global, social and economic development”, said ILO Director General Juan Somavia.”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.”The report was prepared on the basis of newly developed demographic and epidemiological data from the United Nations and other sources that allow for such global projections of the impact of HIV-AIDS on the world of work for the first time.The report said about 152 400 people in Namibia’s labour force were HIV positive by the end of last year, while life expectancy had dropped to 44 years.HIV-AIDS would have a severe impact on Namibia’s economic growth rate by destroying the “human capital” built up over years, it noted.The ILO said the costs of the disease for enterprises of all sizes was becoming clearer year by year.It estimates that in the absence of increased access to treatment, the number of workers lost because of AIDS would increase dramatically, making the disease one of the biggest causes of mortality in the world of work.Namibian companies were also faced with huge burdens.The report said studies had shown that one coping strategy was to adjust costs downwards by altering employee contracts and benefits.”Some companies have outsourced production activities, shifted from labour-intensive technologies, or attempted to avoid hiring new employees who may be HIV positive,” it said of examples elsewhere.”HIV-AIDS is not only a human crisis, it is a threat to sustainable global, social and economic development”, said ILO Director General Juan Somavia.”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.”The report was prepared on the basis of newly developed demographic and epidemiological data from the United Nations and other sources that allow for such global projections of the impact of HIV-AIDS on the world of work for the first time.