Sub-Saharan workforce threatened by AIDS

The President of Namibia, Sam Nujoma, has expressed concern at the economic impact of the spread of the AIDS virus in Africa.

Addressing the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Mr Nujoma said the virus was the greatest health challenge facing the continent and that he had made the fight against it a national priority.

Mr. Nujoma spoke of a continuing need to educate people in Africa, including public administration and the private sector, in order to prevent discrimination against sufferers in the workplace.

By 2020, Namibia's workforce is expected to be twenty per cent less than it would have been without the AIDS crisis.

An ILO report predicts that the workforce in many sub-Saharan countries will also be devastated by the spread of the virus over the next twenty years. The report suggests that the economic growth rates in Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa may be cut by as much as a quarter over the next two decades.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service