TANZANIA: Lack of AIDS drugs killing teachers

Tanzania's Ministry of Education says a lack of specialised HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention is costing it thousands of schoolteachers every year.

According to Education Minister Joseph Mungai, most of the country's 155,000 educators live in rural areas and have little access to antiretrovirals and condoms.

"We have calculated that a total of 2,880 teachers die from AIDS every year ... [and] have appealed for special measures which can lead to the supply of condoms, as well as to the supply of life-sustaining drugs to the affected teachers," Mungai told Reuters.

Teachers make up nearly 50 percent of all government employees, and the ministry is urging the Tanzanian AIDS Commission to make condoms and anti-AIDS drugs available to its staff, especially in remote villages and islands.

Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews,

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]