Working together with businesses : guidance on TB and TB/HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care in the workplace

While considerable literature is now available on diverse public-private mix interventions for TB care and control, there is a dearth of documentation and updated guidance on business sector initiatives in TB care. To address the need for guiding principles to initiate and scale up the engagement of the business sector in TB and HIV care, the WHO in collaboration with ILO, UNAIDS and other partners conducted an assessment of business sector initiatives to address TB and TB/HIV, documented working examples on the ground, and organized an expert consultation to discuss and draw lessons from available evidence. The purpose of this document is to capitalize on the untapped potential of the business sector to respond to these two epidemics. Built on the 2003 guidelines on contribution of workplaces to TB control prepared jointly by the ILO and WHO, these guidelines should help capitalize on increased awareness about TB and HIV and their impact on businesses, and strengthen partnerships between national TB programmes, national HIV programmes, and the business sector to improve TB and HIV prevention, treatment and care activities. Existing guidance to facilitate business participation predominantly focuses on HIV. This document is therefore principally centred on TB prevention, treatment and care and it"s linkages with HIV. This document is designed to provide guidance to TB and HIV programme managers, employers, workers organizations, occupational health staff and other partners on the need and ways to work in partnership to design and implement workplace TB/HIV prevention, treatment and care programmes integrated with occupational health and HIV workplace programmes where relevant. (Excerpt)