March 31, 2009

HIV-Positive Teachers in Kenya Spread HIV to Female Students

An increasing number of young girls in Kenya are contracting HIV from their teachers, IRIN/PlusNews reports. Sexual relationships between teachers and students are very common in the country’s Nyanza Province.

“Some teachers are living with HIV and spreading it to young girls, who hardly know the kind of thing they are getting into,” said Geoffrey Cherogis, the province’s director of education. “It is even more complicated because parents, especially those in rural areas, support these affairs for perceived economic gain.”

Teachers, who are financially stable and richer than most people in the province, agree to pay for the education of girls they are involved with, and Kenyan parents see no reason why they should intervene. More than 60 percent of the residents live on less than U.S. $1 per day. Furthermore, according to the article, girls take pride in dating their professors because they gain the respect of their classmates who see it as an achievement.

“More sex education and punitive measures on teachers are the surest ways to deal with this kind of problem,” said Bondo District’s AIDS and sexually transmitted infections coordinator, Luke Opondo. He added that it’s also necessary to address the issue of poverty among orphaned girls.

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