Search
  1. Home
  2. East Africa
  3. Kenya

Schools warned on AIDS orphan enrolment

    JOHANNESBURG

    Kenya's ministry of health has issued a warning to heads of schools who deny enrolment to HIV-positive children.

    The assistant minister of health, Gideon Konchella, on Thursday said free primary education was open to all children and warned that tough measures would be taken against principals who disobeyed the directive.

    The government announced a free primary education policy earlier this year to provide for children living with, and orphaned by, HIV/AIDS.

    Local newspaper The Nation quoted Konchella as saying: "I am aware that it has been difficult to enrol these children in schools due to a form of subtle discrimination... This is unacceptable and infringes on the rights of children as espoused in the Children's Act."

    It is estimated that some 60,000 Kenyan children below the age of five become infected with HIV/AIDS each year.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join