Labour ministry launches HIV/AIDS awareness drive

ISLAMABAD—The Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistani has started anti- HIV/AIDS campaign to make the labour force aware about this deadly disease.
In the awareness programme, the Directorate of Workers Education (DWE) Labour Ministry, would educate several thousands workers regarding modes of HIV transmission, vulnerable conditions,diagnoses, symptoms and signs, disease control and prevention, stigma and discrimination, official said here Sunday.
In this regard, he said the Ministry would arrange a number ofworkshops for senior doctors of social security institutions, trade unions leaders, workers federations, employers, principal of theTechnical Training Centres and truck drivers to educate them about disease. Official said that International Labour Organization, UNAIDS, World Health Organization, National Aids Control Programme, Pakistan National AIDS Consortium, World Population Foundation would provideinformation on the subject.
He said that workers are especially vulnerable to theconsequences of HIV/AIDS and their illness, death if any due to thesaid killing disease is a loss of skills and experience which reduceproductivity and profitability of enterprises and increase labour costs.—APP