Botswana’s position is special: the country with an outstanding record in addressing the HIV epidemic now faces the next consequence of its success, a pathfinder role in managing the quality of prolonged lives of its next generation.
The education sector has recognised essential internal and external roles within the multi-sectoral response to HIV&AIDS (Bundy, 2002). In the new era of drug treatment, schools not only have a primary role in keeping the uninfected from infection, but now also a secondary essential contribution in supporting the increased numbers of infected young people of school age.
Modelling demonstrates that due to Anti-retrovirals (ARV) and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), the number of HIV positive children is expected to increase then decline over the next 15 years, beyond which there will be very few infected children if PMTCT is maintained at near 100%. It is estimated that between the years of 2007 and 2025, the education sector in
Botswana will have to cope with around 19,000 HIV positive school age children. Similarly, on current trends, an increasing proportion of their teachers will also be HIV positive and taking ARVs. Thus the internal role of the education sector in supporting its teachers has become even more important.
The support provided by schools will be invaluable not only to the education sector itself, but also the health sector, as better educated children will be able to make better decisions concerning health leading to a healthy, educated and productive generation of Batswana.
This paper serves to highlight the key issues now facing the education sector that are explored at three levels: Government, School and Community.