Lost earnings attributable to HIV and AIDS – as a result of death or inability to work – have declined substantially from $17 billion in 2005, but they are still projected to remain high at around to $7.2 billion in 2020 as there remains a great need to scale up the treatment to prevent avoidable deaths, according to a new International Labour Organisation (ILO) report released Thursday in Geneva.
The report – The impact of HIV and AIDS on the world of work: Global estimates – prepared in collaboration with UNAIDS, shows that labour force deaths attributed to HIV and AIDS are projected to fall to 425,000 in 2020, from 1.3 million in 2005. The greatest incidence of mortality is among workers in their late 30s.
“This is the age workers are normally at the peak of their productive life. These deaths are totally avoidable if treatment is scaled up and fast tracked,” said Guy Ryder, the ILO Director-General. “
The number of workers living with HIV increased from 22.5 million in 2005 to 26.6 million in 2015, the report states. It is projected to rise to close to 30 million in 2020, even if ART is scaled up as projected.
Despite the decline in new infections, the success of ART is keeping people alive longer, allowing them to be active participants in the labour force. The number of workers living with HIV either fully or partially unable to work has fallen dramatically since 2005, and this trend is projected to continue.
The good news is that the total number of those estimated to be fully unable to work is expected to decline to about 40,000 in 2020 from about 350,000 in 2005 which is an 85 per cent decline for men and 93 per cent decline for women.
Focusing on “hidden costs” of HIV and AIDS on the care of those affected and their caregivers, the report states that in 2020, an estimated 140,000 children will carry out an added, child-labour level chore burden, according to the medium prediction, while an additional full-time equivalent of 50,000 full-time workers will perform unpaid care work.
“Mere scaling up of treatment is not enough. Testing and HIV prevention measures also need to be stepped up if we are going to end AIDS. This makes human sense. And this makes astute economic sense,” states Ryder.
