Eliminating poverty and HIV related employment discrimination

Under the UN HIV Joint Program Framework, the ILO will focus on eliminating poverty and HIV related employment discrimination

Background

China has made significant progress on HIV response, including frequent high-profile advocacies, sustainable financial inputs on HIV prevention, scaled up HIV test and treatment in the past years, and large HIV campaigns among young people in universities and colleges. However, the social barriers, including punitive regulations, institutional discrimination towards PLHIV and key population have not been well addressed for the reasons of deep-rooted social stereotypes and lack of clear strategy on anti-discrimination. Healthcare services for PLHIV are provided in an unequal way ─ PLHIV and key population are suffering from being excluded from decent work or facing higher risk of losing jobs, gender-based violence (GBV) and discrimination are still easily overlooked.

Guided by new UNSDCF (2021-2025), UN HIV joint team are determined to ensure PLHIV populations benefit from equitable and high-quality public services and social protection systems, while reducing gender inequality and other forms of social inequality. The UN Joint Team on HIV in China reached a consensus to address HIV-related inequalities in employment, healthcare services, education, gender issues and providing legal aid services for PLHIV and key population affected by inequalities in China in 2021.

The ILO, as one of the UNAIDS cosponsor will continue focusing on eliminating discrimination at workplace through cooperation with the government and non-government organizations.

Project objectives

The project will
  • Improve PLHIV’s employability and capacity to generate income in Sichuan Province
  • Raise awareness of HIV and equal rights to employment among human resources managers from private sector in Sichuan and Guangdong Provinces
  • Reducing discrimination towards patients or peer workers living with HIV in healthcare settings through HIV and HealthWISE training for healthcare workers in Yunnan Province

Project beneficiaries

The project’s ultimate beneficiaries are people living with HIV in poverty or with low income. The direct beneficiaries include the PLHIV community, HR managers, healthcare workers and labour officials in selected provinces.

Project partners

  • MOHRSS
  • China Labour Studies Institute MOHRSS
  • Women’s Network against AIDS-China
  • Peking Union Medical College

For further information, please contact

Ms Wu Rulian
Programme Officer
ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia
Tel: +86 10 6532 5091