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HIV/AIDS is adding to the attrition rate of teachers in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, The University of Natal said on Monday.
The Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division (Heard) at the university has warned that the province's educational needs will not be met unless a large number of teachers are trained by the end of the decade.
"The teachers' mortality pattern in terms of age and gender is consistent with what we know of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the general population," Heard research associate, Peter Badcock-Walters, told the UN news service PlusNews.
Badcock-Walters said unless trends are changed, the education department may need to consider a number of different strategies to address the looming teacher shortage.
"Sooner or later, the use of antiretroviral drugs by teachers living with HIV/AIDS may have to be addressed. Most importantly though, teachers, like everyone else, have to reduce the risks they face," Badcock-Walters added.
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
