University AIDS rates higher than expected

The Association of African Universities (AAU) has called for the institutionalisation of HIV/AIDS awareness programmes at tertiary levels. This follows recent reports that prevalence rates in institutions of higher learning had risen to alarming proportions. AAU coordinator, Alice Sena Lamptey, said contrary to the belief that HIV/AIDS infection rates were lower among the educated, research indicates that it is on the rise. The Ugandan newspaper, New Vision, quoted Lamptey as saying: "We have received 67 proposals on HIV/AIDS from various institutions of higher education and in all cases the prevalence rate seems to be higher than the [respective country's] national average." The AAU said that with support from the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), it had managed to fund six of the proposals and develop an HIV/AIDS toolkit for 172 of its member universities.