May 8, 2002
A new World Bank report warns that Aids is killing teachers in some countries faster than they can be trained. At the same time, in all but the most affected countries, student populations continue to grow, increasing the demand for teachers. The disease is adding millions of dollars to the cost of expanding education in the world's poorest countries. The author of the study said the challenge is to expand education in spite of the impact of Aids on the ranks of teachers because education is key to stemming the spread of the disease.
Africa hit hard
By the end of 2001, UNAids estimated that more than 40 million people were living with HIV and Aids, with about 5 million new infections last year. Sub-Saharan Africa has been hardest hit, and the study shows the disease is ravaging the ranks of teachers there.
Some 12% of teachers in South Africa, 19% of teachers in Zambia and 30% of teachers in Botswana are infected with the virus that causes Aids, said Professor Donald Bundy, the lead author of the study. In Zambia, Aids is killing 1,000 teachers a year - which until last year was equal to the total output of the nation's teacher colleges.
Even before it kills, Aids ravages the ranks of teachers.
During the average 10-year course of the disease, Aids leads to high levels of teacher absenteeism, and these teachers are often not replaced. In Botswana, funeral attendance is second only to illness in Aids-related absenteeism amongst teachers.
In countries most impacted by the disease, many schools struggle with only one or two teachers where there should be 10, Dr Bundy said. And despite high adult mortality rates, in all but six of the hardest hit countries , student populations are still increasing, which means the demand for teachers continues to increase.
Education stops spread
In the poorest countries of the world, 113 million children do not attend school. "Everyone is trying to improve education, and Aids is making that battle that much harder," Dr Bundy said.
Of the 55 countries that the World Bank believes are unlikely to achieve education for all, 31 are those worst affected by Aids. And in those countries hardest hit by Aids, the disease will add half a billion dollars to the finance gap that those countries need to achieve education for all of their children. But Dr Bundy is hopeful that education can still be used to slow rates of infection and keep children who are not infected from contracting HIV.
There are many studies that show that education decreases the rates of infection, he said. "In Zambia in the 1990s, HIV infection rates fell by almost half amongst educated women, while there was little or no decline in women who hadn't gone to school," Dr Bundy said.
The World Bank study says universal basic education is critical to stemming the spread of HIV and that girls and an increasing number of Aids orphans must be guaranteed an education. Despite the grim numbers, "we do have a window of hope," Dr Bundy said. Even in countries with the highest infection rates - Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland - most school-aged children are not infected, he said, and "there is no reason that these children should ever become infected".
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