Impact of HIV/AIDS on education and poverty.

• Author: Ijumba, Nelson

2011 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the first report of HIV, which came from the United States, where cases of an unusual disease were seen among young gay men. Thirty years later, the location and pace of the epidemic has changed dramatically. Globally, an estimated 33.3 million people are infected or living with HIV, of which 22.5 million are in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, of the 2.5 million children in the world estimated to be living with HIV, 2.3 million are in sub-Saharan Africa. Southern Africa, the most affected region, includes a number of middle- and lower-middle-income nations known as the hyperendemic countries. In South Africa alone, there are about 5.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS. In Swaziland, 42 per cent of women attending antenatal clinics are infected, with similar rates found elsewhere in the region. Many children are affected by the disease in a number of ways: they live with sick parents and relatives in households drained of resources due to the epidemic, and those who have lost parents are less likely to go to school or continue with their education.

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Studies in the regions of Southern Africa and South-East Asia have found HIV/AIDS to negatively impact both the demand for and supply of education.1'2 Orphaned children are either pulled out of school or not enrolled at all due to the financial constraints of their affected families, and have to assume responsibilities of heading or providing for households. In this respect, girls are more vulnerable. In Kenya, links were found between parental deaths and children's progress through school. In Tanzania, households that have experienced an adult death have been found to delay the enrolment of younger children in school, but try to keep older children enrolled. In Malawi, it has been shown that the death of an adult encourages children to marry earlier, drop out of school to help support the family, and take on informal labour schemes. In Zambia, it is estimated that more than 7 per cent of approximately two million households are headed by children. (1) The reduction in primary school enrolment has a domino effect on secondary and post-secondary enrolments as well. A 1992 World Bank study in Tanzania showed that HIV/AIDS was likely to reduce the number of primary and secondary school children by 22 and 14 per cent respectively. (1) The high infant mortality rate due to HIV/AIDS also reduces the number of...