5,000 teachers on Aids drugs

More than 5,000 teachers infected with HIV are being assisted to get drugs and nutritional supplements, according to the Teachers Service Commission.

Hundreds of others were dying due to stigma, Ms Jemima Nindo, the head of the commission’s HIV/Aids control unit, said on Wednesday. She said that in 2003, only three teachers had admitted that they were HIV-positive but the number rose to 70 in 2004.

By February this year, the 5,000 teachers who had admitted that they were infected were getting assistance from the TSC. Ms Nindo appealed to secondary school heads attending a workshop at Kapsabet Boys High in Nandi District to assign the affected teachers lighter duties.

Pandemic spread

She told the principals that unless teachers knew their status, the pandemic could spread into schools and affect learners. TSC officials were surprised that none of the more than 180 secondary school heads in Nandi had taken an HIV test or collected the educational materials and condoms the employer was offering.

Separately, an anti-HIV/Aids campaign targeting prostitutes, matatu crews and long-distance truck drivers has been launched in Bungoma West District. Funded by the National Aids Control Council, the campaign is coordinated by the Bungoma West Organisation for Community Empowerment, an umbrella body for more than 15 local NGOs.

Faith Church

Speaking during the launch at Faith Church in Sirisia constituency, the organisation’s director, Mrs Jacklyne Nandako, said the programme was prompted by increased HIV/Aids prevalence in the area. Mrs Nandako said her organisation would provide counselling and training together with free testing services and anti-retroviral drugs to those affected.