Economic Problems
The International Labor Oganization (ILO) has estimated that, in 2004, over 36 million productively working persons world-wide were infected with HIV. This means that, in the not too distant future, there will be millions of workers too sick to contribute to the economy, and the countries hit hardest will also be among the poorest. Not only that: As more and more people drop out of the workforce, the AIDS epidemic will lead to a loss of knowledge and experience in many important areas, especially in education and health care. Moreover, as a result of persistent gender inequality in many of the affected countries, more women than men will continue to be infected. At the same time, these women, expected to play their traditional roles, will increasingly have to care for sick family members and thus will be less able to do other work. This is especially true if they have no access to treatment. As they themselves grow weaker and die, millions of AIDS orphans will be left to fend for themselves.

AIDS is therefore also a workplace issue. Even for purely economic reasons, the people living with AIDS should be kept working as long as possible. Where stigmatization and discrimination still exist, they must end. The ILO has drafted a Code of Practice which, if followed, could mitigate some of the expected problems. In any case, AIDS is fast becoming a negative economic factor in many poor countries, and ignoring the growing threat will not help. Indeed, the ILO has concluded that the direct and indirect costs of inaction are far greater than the costs of treatment.

Fortunately, treating AIDS has become much cheaper in many poor countries, where generic drug manufacturers are now able to provide medication at a fraction of its former cost. Encouraged by this development, the United Nations have set themselves the goal of getting the cheaper drugs to at least 5 million patients by 2005.