As a Cosponsor of UNAIDS, and under the UNAIDS Division of Labour, ILO is the lead agency on HIV workplace policies and programmes and private sector mobilization. ILO recognizes that HIV has a potentially devastating impact on labour and productivity and represents an enormous burden for working people, their families and communities in a number of ways. For example, HIV-related stigma and discrimination threaten their fundamental rights at work and undermine their opportunities to obtain decent and sustainable employment. The workplace offers a unique entry point to reach this large, vital and productive segment of the population. The organization has been involved in the HIV response since 1998 through the world of work.

This policy brief focuses on the HIV-related needs and rights of international labour migrants, whether they are in regular or irregular status, and whether their migration is of long or short duration.

Often neglected, food security and nutrition are critical for individuals, households and communities affected by HIV. Lack of food security and poor nutritional status may hasten progression to AIDS-related illnesses and undermine adherence and response

Restrictions on stay and residence based on HIV status not only deny equal freedom of movement to HIV-positive people, they also affect their health, development and other human rights.

More than half of all sexually transmitted infections, other than HIV, (more than 180 million out of a global annual total of 340 million) occur among young people aged 15 to 24. Yet most young people still have no access to sexual and reproductive health programmes that provide the information, skills, services, commodities, and social support they need to prevent HIV. In fact, many laws and policies go as far as to exclude young people from accessing sexual health and HIV-related services, such as HIV testing and counselling, the provision of condoms, and age-appropriate sexuality and HIV prevention education.

UNESCO is one of the six founding UNAIDS Cosponsors. Under the UNAIDS Division of Labour, UNESCO is responsible for leading efforts to support countries in scaling up the education sector response to HIV. With over 70 offices, institutes and regional bureaux around the world, UNESCO has more than 50 staff members dedicated to working on HIV and health education. Of these, the majority are National Programme Officers based in countries that UNAIDS has prioritized for high-impact interventions. The agency draws on its unique spectrum of competencies across the diverse spheres of education, the sciences, culture, communication and information to push for a truly multisectoral and comprehensive response to HIV.

•Commentary and recommendations for the implementation of Guideline 6: “States should enact legislation to provide for the regulation of HIV-related goods, services and information, so as to ensure widespread availability of qualitative prevention measures and services, adequate HIV prevention and care information, and safe and effective medication at an affordable price…”

In December 2003 UNAIDS supported a workshop on HIV and AIDS related stigma and discrimination. This brought together 37 leading academic theologians from different Christian traditions and countries, to consider and debate the major theological issues that contribute to and can help eradicate stigma related to HIV and AIDS, to engage in dialogue with people living with HIV and to provide a framework for theological refl ection. This report of the workshop contains the framework for theological refl ection and the related speeches presented at the workshop.

This report looks at progress on applying the “Three Ones” principles to the end of 2004, and identifies the challenges ahead as well as opportunities for overcoming these challenges. While this preliminary report is by no means comprehensive, it is a very useful step forward in helping us find answers to a question that must preoccupy all of us: How can we, individually and collectively, make optimal use of the limited resources available for tackling the AIDS pandemic, an unprecedented global crisis, and so accelerate progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals?