Nigerian Labor Minister Says Government Will Not Tolerate Discrimination Against HIV-Positive Workers

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 01 Oct 2007 - 6:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Nigerian Labor Minister Hassan Muhammad Lawal on Monday at the Africa-Middle East Regional HIV/AIDS and Wellness Conference said his country's government would not tolerate discrimination against HIV-positive workers, Nigeria's Daily Trust reports (Gulloma, Daily Trust, 9/25). Lawal said that HIV-positive people are productive and can contribute to the economy. He added that discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS is "against fundamental principles and rights at work."

Lawal praised British American Tobacco's efforts to implement national work-force policy on HIV/AIDS and called on other businesses to implement the policy. Kervel du Toit, the company's human resource director in Africa and the Middle East, said BAT's campaign against HIV/AIDS in the workplace had increased workers' productivity and wellness (John, Leadership/AllAfrica.com, 9/25). Lawal added that employers should involve workers in the implementation of HIV prevention and education programs (Daily Trust, 9/25).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

• Additional
• References
• Citations