30,000 pupils infected with HIV
Dec 22, 2010
OVER 30,000 primary school pupils and 2,600 teachers are infected with HIV, an official from the education ministry has said.
By Paul Watala
OVER 30,000 primary school pupils and 2,600 teachers are infected with HIV, an official from the education ministry has said.
Emmanuel Kusemererwa, a commissioner in the ministry, said over 320 support staff also had the virus.
“Available data in the ministry shows that 30,000 pupils, 2,600 primary teachers and 320 education employees had disclosed that they have HIV,†Kusemererwa said.
He was on Tuesday speaking during a teachers’ fare at Bududa district grounds, where he represented the education minister, Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire.
The function was organised by the Straight Talk Foundation.
Kusemererwa said stigma and discrimination remained the main challenges in schools. To solve the problem, he said the ministry, together with USAID, had trained over 40,000 teachers in counselling, but said these were not enough.
He said the HIV prevalence among married parents had shot up to 49%.
“The country is losing very useful people to HIV,†Kusemererwa said.
He said the country would not achieve the millennium development goals and education for all by 2015 and 2020 respectively, unless the problem is tackled collectively.
Kusemererwa called for the sensitization of teachers, support staff and children about the HIV/AIDS workplace policy, to help them cope with the problem.
He urged the ministry not to transfer teachers living with HIV/AIDS to areas where they cannot access ARVs.
He hailed the Straight Talk Foundation for sensitising the youth in primary and post-primary institutions about the spread and prevention of HIV.
He appealed to non-governmental organisations and international agencies to train teachers about the HIV/AIDS workplace policy, stigmatisation and discrimination.
OVER 30,000 primary school pupils and 2,600 teachers are infected with HIV, an official from the education ministry has said.
Emmanuel Kusemererwa, a commissioner in the ministry, said over 320 support staff also had the virus.
“Available data in the ministry shows that 30,000 pupils, 2,600 primary teachers and 320 education employees had disclosed that they have HIV,†Kusemererwa said.
He was on Tuesday speaking during a teachers’ fare at Bududa district grounds, where he represented the education minister, Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire.
The function was organised by the Straight Talk Foundation.
Kusemererwa said stigma and discrimination remained the main challenges in schools. To solve the problem, he said the ministry, together with USAID, had trained over 40,000 teachers in counselling, but said these were not enough.
He said the HIV prevalence among married parents had shot up to 49%.
“The country is losing very useful people to HIV,†Kusemererwa said.
He said the country would not achieve the millennium development goals and education for all by 2015 and 2020 respectively, unless the problem is tackled collectively.
Kusemererwa called for the sensitization of teachers, support staff and children about the HIV/AIDS workplace policy, to help them cope with the problem.
He urged the ministry not to transfer teachers living with HIV/AIDS to areas where they cannot access ARVs.
He hailed the Straight Talk Foundation for sensitising the youth in primary and post-primary institutions about the spread and prevention of HIV.
He appealed to non-governmental organisations and international agencies to train teachers about the HIV/AIDS workplace policy, stigmatisation and discrimination.