HIV 'afflicting global workforce'

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READ THE ARTICLE BELOW AND PLEASE FILL HERE WITH YOUR OPINION: HIV/Aids is having a crippling effect on the workforce of many countries, a report by the International Labour Organization for World Aids Day says. The ILO said HIV/Aids killed almost 3.5 million people of working age in 2005. In addition, more than a million jobs are lost each year to the disease, the bulk of them in sub-Saharan Africa. In a speech to mark World Aids Day, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said more had to be done to encourage frank and open discussion of HIV/Aids. All politicians had to consider themselves personally accountable for stopping the spread of the disease, Mr Annan said, as did every individual. "It requires every one of us to help bring Aids out of the shadows and spread the message that silence is death," he said. Graph of HIV/Aids infection rates worldwide South Africa is expected to announce details of a five-year programme to tackle the crisis. Its government has in the past been accused of not doing enough to fight the HIV/Aids pandemic. More than five million South Africans are infected with the virus, making it one of the world's worst-affected countries. BBC Southern Africa correspondent Peter Biles says Aids policy has undergone a dramatic change, with the government now committed to providing more antiretroviral (AVR)