05 Mar Tanzania: Proposal to Label HIV/AIDS Students Rejected
Kibaha — HIV/AIDS stakeholders in Kibaha District, Coast Region have rejected an arrangement set by some schools to label with a red mark on the uniforms of HIV/AIDS positive students.
“This promotes stigma,” said one of the stakeholders, Ms Jane Tibihika. She said: “When we learnt about this development, we sent our comments to responsible authorities. We warned them that students living with HIV/AIDS would not be able to cope if they would be subjected to stigma.”
On her part, the KIPELIHA Chairperson, Ms Rebecca Mshumbuzi noted that the move defied the law which gives HIV/AIDS patients a right to secrecy. “I suggest that schools device another method to help identify people living with HIV-AIDS,” she said.
She said when she inquired as to why the pupils were being identified, she was told it was for their own good, as needed identification to avoid being assigned difficult duties. She, however, noted that the survey found out that teachers had gone an extra mile in naming the kind of diseases that the mark bearers are suffering from leading to stigma.
Mr Stanford Mbengane noted that the practice was not good in schools as teachers had gone into the extent of revealing to other students the disease of the mark bearers. The Kibaha Town Council HIV/AIDS Coordinator, Ms Suwema Cheru defended the move saying it was done in good faith to identify sick students and treat them with caution.
“Some of the schools are labeling the pupils, they are identifying the sick. However, I will contact the education officer to know whether the arrangement has the blessings of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training,” she said.