In 2004, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) World Congress adopted an HIV/AIDS resolution and instructed its affiliates and others to raise the prominence of HIV/AIDS within their working program, worldwide. See:

ICFTU World Congress HIV/AIDS resolution

Trade unions have local, national and international networks. They are rooted in the workplace and in local communities. Unions in industrialised countries now engage in numerous solidarity activities with those in developing countries.

The Global Unions Programme on HIV/AIDS was launched on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2003, after a year-long preparatory process, during which activities were mapped and analyzed, so as to deepen the ability to meet the growing AIDS challenge.

These Trade Union HIV/AIDS Country Profiles have been developed as a national and regional framework tool for planning actions at the workplace and to implement change at the community level, world-wide.

These profiles link economic, social and labour force data on HIV/AIDS. They contain four sections:

Organizing for change: trade union activities on HIV/AIDS,

Country is ranked according to a Representation and Voice Security Index

Overview data for the HIV/AIDS pandemic, including for tuberculosis and malaria,

Socio economic baseline data: poverty, employment, gender and other indicators,

Country is ranked according to: i) Human Development, and ii) Labour Market Security

Enterprise information and good practice activities