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HIV/AIDS rife in education sector

    JOHANNESBURG

    Every day 11 teachers in South Africa die from AIDS-related illnesses, a study commissioned by the Education Labour Relations Council has found.

    The survey, carried out by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) on a nationally representative sample of 17,088 teachers at 1,700 schools, shows that close to 13 percent of teachers are HIV-positive.

    A local newspaper, The Star, quoted HSRC head of research Dr Olive Shisana as saying: "There are 356,700 teachers in 26,700 schools countrywide, and of [those] visited, 83 percent agreed to provide specimens for HIV testing. We also asked about their sexual behaviour and HIV/AIDS-related issues."

    An estimated 24 percent of infected teachers were women aged between 30 and 34, while 19 percent men in the same age bracket were positive.

    Access the study: http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za

    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

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