By Lillian Ayebale

HEALTH in school is key for good grades and attainment of oneâ€™s career dreams. According to the Population Council Inc. (2009) report, about 70% of the HIV-positive young people are in schools.

However, in school HIV-positive students face many health challenges especially when parents do not tell them and the authorities about their HIV status. As a result, insufficient attention is paid to the special needs of pupils living with HIV.

The Population Council study in Uganda (2008) showed that only 14% of school going young people living with HIV had disclosed their status to their teachers. Consequently, school-based programmes for this small, but rapidly growing population of learners are absent.

Many parents and guardians simply send their children to school with instructions to take their medicines diligently without explaining to them why. It is worse when they even emphasise, â€˜take in private. Do not let your friends see you,â€™ as research has found.

This non-disclosure does not help the child understand why he or she has to take medication. Parents and guardians should justify to HIV-positive young people under their care the reasons why they take medication and why they should take it diligently.

Non-disclosure of HIV status poses a big challenge even where interventions would have been availed. In fact, health experts note that there is a high likelihood of poor adherence in such instances. Children under HIV treatment and care need to know their status for better care, whether at home or at school.

Unfortunately, a 2009 study entitled Special needs of in-school HIV-positive young people in Uganda reports that many infected children are actually not aware that they are positive, a major impediment to providing appropriate and timely support to these youngsters.

The study found that parents/guardians fear that their children might not be admitted in school if they disclosed their HIV status to school authorities. Yet those who had disclosed their HIV status to school authorities mostly reported being shown compassion/sympathy, counselled, or being helped with medication.

Findings from another study also revealed that parents and guardians are required by schools to fill out medical forms for pupils and students on admission. The information is used by the schools to identify those with chronic illnesses or other special needs and who might need special attention.

However, none of the medical forms completed by parents and guardians indicated HIV/AIDS as one of the chronic illnesses. This could be attributed to the fact that parents and guardians sometimes conceal some ailments, for fear that their children may not be admitted if their conditions are known or to protect them from discrimination and stigmatisation.

Disclosure would provide a basis for better understanding of how the education sector should support this group of learners. Statistics on the number of in-school HIV-positives would call for appropriate HIV interventions in school settings.HIV-positive children have a right to know their status, get good education for a bright future with support from the concerned parties.
The writer is a Makerere University School of Public Health-CDC HIV/AIDS fellow

Former ethics minister Fr Simon Lokodo dies aged 64

Lokodo reportedly developed complications during his trip to Geneva.

Former ethics minister Fr Simon Lokodo dies aged 64

NewVision Reporter

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