Inter Press Service - Friday, January 22, 1999
Melvis Dzisah

The study, conducted by Alphonse Kanga of the University of Abidjan, says between 1994 and 1997 at least 292 primary school teachers and 59 secondary teachers were dying of various ailments in the West African country of about 17 million people every year.

"In 1996/97 academic year, 322 deaths were reported among primary school teachers, out of which 140 were claimed by AIDS," the study says. "Within the same period 51 secondary school teachers died, 19 of them from AIDS," it says.

The effects of the pandemic on education in Cote d'Ivoire, the study says, are disastrous since the sick teachers were prevented from charging their duty most of the time.

"Some were only available for four weeks during the 28-week school year, thus retarding the progress of their pupils and students," says the study. "The absence", the study says, "represents between 252 and 280 teaching hours lost every year within the period studied (1994-1997)."

"If the tendency continues there would be about 41,632 boys and 30,023 girls out of school by the year 2000," it warns.

The study also touched on the plight of the families of the victims. "We registered 796 AIDS orphans, 447 of whom are children below 15," it says. To reduce the death toll, Kanga calls for an intensive campaign among teachers to curb the spread of the disease.

Dr Issah Malick Coulibaly, Executive Director of the National Anti-AIDS Programme, says the study reflects the magnitude of the disease in Cote d'Ivoire. "It means we have to work harder to curb its spread," he says.

The first case of AIDS in Cote d'Ivoire was diagnosed in 1985, the same year the National Anti-AIDS Committee was set up. Since then, the number of AIDS patients has increased to nearly 40,000, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), which estimates the figure to rise to one million by year's end.

Some social workers attribute the spread of the disease to a lack of aggressive campaign. Others blame it on the rigid traditional attitude, which discourages safe sex. Most Ivorians attribute the pandemic to an act of witchcraft.

"In such a situation it is very difficult to educate people about the dangers of having unprotected sex with multiple partners," says Coulibaly.

Despite the high infection rate, the ratio between men and women living with the virus and dying from it is not known by Ivorian health authorities.

Coulibaly believes there are more men living with the virus and dying from it than women. "We have no figure but to the best of my estimation 60 percent of all AIDS-related deaths in the country are male," he says.(END/IPS/md/mn/99)
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