the impact of hiv/aids on the education sector in tanzania

shortage <strong>of</strong> key personnel. To avoid this, it is advised that training and replacement,
particularly <strong>of</strong> subject specialists, should reflect <strong>the</strong> <strong>impact</strong> <strong>of</strong> HIV/AIDS on <strong>the</strong> sector.
Concrete facts and figures are essential for effective leadership and advocacy. One <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> greatest challenges is precisely <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> reliable data about <strong>the</strong> <strong>impact</strong> <strong>of</strong> HIV/AIDS on
teachers and pupils. This is largely because MoEC headquarters and <strong>the</strong> district education
<strong>of</strong>fices do not have an effective EMIS to monitor <strong>the</strong> <strong>impact</strong> <strong>of</strong> HIV/AIDS in <strong>the</strong> education
sector. It is strongly advised that <strong>the</strong> current EMIS be made HIV/AIDS sensitive. The
programme monitoring capacity should be increased, as should <strong>the</strong> capacity for collecting,
storing, disseminating and retrieving information using electronic equipment. Such
improvements will facilitate <strong>the</strong> formulation <strong>of</strong> sound training and replacement strategies and
aid staff deployment. They will also enable comparisons to be made amongst different types
<strong>of</strong> institutions (e.g. public and private schools, teacher training colleges etc.), studying
absenteeism and measuring <strong>the</strong> effectiveness <strong>of</strong> interventions.
5.3 Advocacy
The mass media play a very important role for advocacy through educating, informing
and entertaining <strong>the</strong> public. It is a very effective means <strong>of</strong> reaching many people at <strong>the</strong> same
time and has been used extensively by senior leaders. However, <strong>the</strong> media used should be
selected carefully and with reference to <strong>the</strong> target audience. With an illiterate population, for
example, <strong>the</strong> written word (newspapers, flyers, circulars etc.) will not be very effective, whilst
in poverty-ridden communities <strong>the</strong> spoken word (television, radio, etc.) will only have limited
<strong>impact</strong> because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> relatively high cost <strong>of</strong> receiving equipment.
Seminars, conferences and workshops have also been used extensively as vehicles to
deliver HIV/AIDS interventions, although <strong>the</strong>y may be open to abuse. For example,
Shellukindo et al. (2000) remark that sometimes <strong>the</strong>se activities are not taken seriously by
participants and have become income-generating activities for those involved in AIDS control
and prevention.
Some religious leaders and education sector <strong>of</strong>ficials do not support advocacy for
condom promotion and use in schools. They regard HIV/AIDS as God’s punishment to
sinners and promotion <strong>of</strong> condom use as encouraging people to commit adultery or to indulge
in promiscuous activities. Shellukindo et al. (2000: 45) remind <strong>the</strong> readers and those opposed
to condom use and promotion that, “If we cannot prevent people from breaking <strong>the</strong> sixth
commandment (you shall not commit adultery) we should at least prevent <strong>the</strong>m from breaking
<strong>the</strong> fifth commandment (you shall not kill). Keeping silent about condoms is a sin because it
means assisting <strong>the</strong> spread <strong>of</strong> illness and death.”
5.3.1 Recommendations
In all cases, <strong>the</strong> effectiveness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> advocacy approaches described above have not
been assessed, with regard to timing, <strong>the</strong> target group, <strong>the</strong> socioeconomic environment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
target group, etc. It is highly recommended that <strong>the</strong>se approaches be evaluated in order to
measure <strong>the</strong>ir efficacy and effectiveness.
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