About Half of Teachers Trained Annually in Zambia Die of AIDS-Related Complications
About 1,000 of the 2,200 teachers trained annually in Zambia are dying of AIDS-related complications each year, according to a report issued Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reports. According to the report, "Statistics show that the number of teachers has been decreasing" at a rate of about 1,000 a year from AIDS-related deaths. The ministry of education has developed a "comprehensive" HIV/AIDS strategy in an attempt to "salvage the situation." The school dropout rate has also increased because of the high number of AIDS orphans. There are about 620,000 AIDS orphans in Zambia, which has an HIV infection rate of nearly 20% (Agence France-Presse, 10/17).
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