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23 500 teachers need ARVs
08/06/2005 13:49 - (SA)
Durban - About 23 500 teachers are in urgent need of antiretroviral treatment to fight HIV and Aids, affecting schools mostly in rural areas, according to an extensive study of the impact of the pandemic on the education system.
The study by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) found the HIV/Aids prevalence rate among teachers at 12.7%, although that figure shot up to 21.4% in the 25-34 age group.
"The younger educators are the ones that we are going to be losing," said Olive Shisana, a researcher with the HSRC who presented the findings at the national Aids conference in Durban on Wednesday.
Shisana said an estimated 23 500 teachers living with HIV are in need of treatment as their CD4 cell count was below 350, indicating a progression of the disease to the point where antiretrovirals would be needed to save lives.
Of these, an estimated 10 000 had CD4 cell counts lower than 200, meaning they were in full-blown Aids.
"We recommend treatment as a matter of urgency," said Shisana. "I'm not talking about later but right now."
Shishana, however, said the study did not establish how many teachers might already be taking the Aids-fighting drugs and that the call for treatment was based on analysis of the CD4 cell counts of those teachers with HIV.
The nationwide study conducted in 2004 also found that rural areas were "hotspots" for teachers living with Aids, with the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province ranking first at 21.8% followed by the northern Mpumalanga province and the Eastern Cape.
Last year, 4 000 teachers died of Aids, of whom 80% were under 45, the study showed.
One in five has Aids
It also showed that a third of all educators were affected by Aids, mostly because a relative or friend had died of the disease in the past two years.
"There is a very high rate of absenteeism related to going to funerals," said Shishana, adding that 20% of educators said they were attending services for close ones who had succumbed to Aids at least once a month.
"It does have an impact in terms of educators being able to do their work," she added.
South Africa has one of the biggest Aids caseloads in the world, with an estimated 5.3 million people, or one in five adults, living with HIV and Aids, according to the UNAids agency.
The four-day national Aids conference that opened here on Tuesday is being attended by some 4 000 scientists, medical professionals, activists and social workers.
The HI-virus attacks the human immune system, causing Aids, which is incurable but can be held in check with appropriate drugs.
- AFP
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