HIV-related deaths among teachers alarming

Central and Eastern African countries, whose education systems are already threatened by HIV/AIDS, need to take concrete steps to minimise the impact of the pandemic, a regional forum in Yaounde, Cameroon, has concluded. The sub-regional forum on UNESCO's 'Education For All' (EFA) programme, held on 22-25 April, highlighted the alarming death rate among teachers who the 100 participants said, constitute high-risk groups in several countries. The high mortality rate among educators, the forum noted, could be an obstacle to achieving the objectives of EFA. World Bank documents presented showed that 14,460 teachers in Tanzania could die of AIDS by 2010, and up to 27,000 by 2020. In Kenya, the death toll among teachers rose from 450 in 1995 to 1,400 in 1999. Cote d'Ivoire and Malawi lose at least one teacher per day while in South Africa, as many as 133,000 could die by the end of this decade. The forum heard from UNAIDS that many schools in the Central African Republic were forced to shut down because of "the numerous teacher deaths due to infections associated with AIDS", while Cameroon's Comite National de Lutte contre le Sida reported that 256 students and 104 teachers were infected between 1985 and 2000. The forum noted that 10 percent of teachers and 20 percent of students could be infected with HIV in the next five years. Describing the situation as "catastrophic", UNESCO's AIDS focal point, Foussenou Sissoko, called for vigorous actions such as peer education and medical. He told PlusNews these measures should target teachers and students. He also called on countries to establish mechanisms to track the progression of HIV by, among other things, pushing for voluntary testing. "Advocacy efforts must target those in charge of AIDS programmes and a better awareness of teachers to better understand the importance of testing," Sissoko said. Participants said HIV/AIDS education needed to be introduced in schools, despite the existing taboos and cultural obstacles. Education experts and other officials themselves had to stop believing that parents would be shocked to know that HIV/AIDS and safe sexual behaviour were being taught at schools, they said. They called for greater use of the media to spread the word. Participating countries pledged to continue existing anti-AIDS initiatives and to increase collaborative efforts, nationally and internationally, to combat HIV/AIDS among teachers. African ministers of education are scheduled to meet in December in Mauritius to discuss further steps that need to be taken. EFA was established in Dakar, Senegal, in 2000. It has six goals: expanding early childhood care and education; providing quality free and compulsory education by 2015; promoting the acquisition of life-skills by adolescents and youth; increasing adult literacy rates by 50 percent by 2015; eliminating gender disparities in education by 2005 and achieving gender equality by 2015; and enhancing educational quality.