A new set of joint guidelines presented last December by the ILO and the World Health Organization (WHO) strongly urges national authorities to provide HIV post-exposure prophylaxis as part as their national HIV policy. Post-exposure prophylaxis to HIV is the only way of reducing the risk of development of HIV infection in an individual who has been exposed to the virus. Each day thousands of workers, especially healthcare workers – but also emergency rescue staff, waste-disposal workers, law enforcement personnel, firefighters and others – may be exposed to infected blood and other body fluids while performing their work duties. The Joint WHO-ILO Guidelines on post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent HIV infection focus on how to provide PEP, a short-term antiretroviral treatment that reduces the likelihood of HIV infection after possible exposure.
For more information, please contact the ILO Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work at iloaids@ilo.org