Burkina Faso: Pandemic stabilising but teachers still at risk
The two teachers' unions working on the EFAIDS Programme in Burkina Faso - the National Union of Secondary and Higher Education Teachers (SNESS) and the National Union of African Teachers of Burkina (SNEAB - have commissioned a study to explore the impact of HIV and AIDS on the teaching body, and to come up with methods of addressing the issue.
Burkina Faso has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in Western Africa. Within this, teachers have been identified by the WHO as a high risk group. The supply of and demand for education have both been affected by HIV. This has serious implications for the achievement of the Education for All goals.
The study offers a comprehensive picture of the environment in which teachers are living and working in Burkina Faso. It looks into the factors which make teachers a population at risk, in spite of the fact that their knowledge on HIV and its modes of transmission tend to be above average. It evaluates the impact of HIV and AIDS on teachers, and the reasons why they sometimes avoid voluntary testing. A list of all of the institutions involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS in Burking is also featured in the report, with a specific section on the action plan of the National Committee against AIDS. The study concludes by outlining a number of recommendations. One of these is that the fight against HIV and AIDS should focus on:
I. prevention using the life skills approach II. the fight against stigma and discrimination III. care for affected and infected teachers.
To obtain a copy of the study (in French), please contact us at [email protected].
