Voluntary HIV Counselling and Testing (VCT) at Work in Mozambique

Since 2006 the International Labour Organization (ILO) has been supporting stakeholders in the world of work to better respond to HIV and AIDS in Mozambique. Actions encompass scaling up access to HIV prevention and care through the workplace, increasing the demand for VCT, taking into account the gender-specific needs of women and men, as well as economically empowering groups such as women, young people and people working in the informal economy that are particularly vulnerable to HIV.

In order to ensure that more people take tests, the ILO has embarked on the VCT@Work Initiative, collaborating with partners from both the public and private sector, including the Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS (ECoSIDA), Mozambique Railways Company (CFM), the sugar industries, Mozambique Airlines, the Ministry of Health through its Provincial Directorates, the National AIDS Council (NAC), the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Labour.
ECoSIDA, CFM and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in partnership with the ILO, have been working together to strengthen the capacity of their members to respond to HIV and to mitigate the impact of the epidemic in workplaces. The vision is to offer voluntary and confidential HIV counselling and testing to a significant number of employees.