Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho HIV & AIDS and the Education Sector in Lesotho Presented on behalf of Paramente Phamotse by Chris Castle Centro Banamex Mexico City 5 August 2008

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho 2 2 About Lesotho In Southern Africa Population ≈ 1.8 million Per Capita GNP (2005) = USD758 % population below poverty line = 58% (2000) Ranked 149th in the 2006 UN Human Development Index Net enrolment in primary education in 2006 = 83.5%

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho 3 3 HIV and AIDS in Lesotho 3 rd highest prevalence of HIV in the world More than 20% of its children orphaned, many more are vulnerable HIV prevalence for adults estimated at 23% in 2005 Over 60% of the population is under 24 years of age More women and girls affected by HIV and AIDS

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho 4 4 Orphan Projections in selected SSA Countries

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho 5 5 Rationale for a strong education sector response HIV & AIDS is weakening the education system, undermining EFA goals Challenges exist in the provision of adequate basic services (water, sanitation, nutrition, health etc.) to schools Schools need to respond to the changing needs of learners and educators

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho 6 6 The Response 1.Assisting educators infected by HIV to access treatment and keep teaching 2.Expanding educational opportunities for all – especially OVC 3.Introducing HIV and AIDS into the school curriculum 4.Improving Sector Capacity to Manage HIV and AIDS 5.Strengthening Schools as Centres for Care and Support

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho 7 7 Assisting HIV-Positive Educators As part of national campaign “Know Your Status”, the government is encouraging teachers and learners to test for HIV. Before the onset of a national ARV programme, MoE supported access to treatment for teachers through the private sector. Teachers affected by HIV and AIDS are provided with psycho-social support by trained colleagues and MOE Counsellors

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho 8 8 Expanding Educational Opportunities The Government introduced free primary education since 2000 –Providing bursaries to OVC in secondary education since 2001 –Establishing new schools nearer to communities to minimise walking distances

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho 9 9 HIV and AIDS in the curriculum Content on HIV and AID integrated in all subjects in the school curriculum Curriculum includes knowledge and skills on sex education, STDs, reproductive health as a key part of Health Education ( primary) and Integrated Science (Secondary) HIV and AIDS knowledge and skills consciously integrated into national examinations across the curriculum Life-skills curriculum developed since 2005, piloted in 2006 and rolled out into schools from 2007.

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho 10 Improving Sector Capacity to Manage HIV and AIDS National AIDS Commission established to coordinate HIV and AIDS response MoE established an HIV and AIDS Unit since HIV and AIDS Coordination Office established since 2005 with the assistance of UNAIDS and UNESCO Based on the National AIDS Strategy, the MOE is finalising the education sector strategy on AIDS

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho 11 School-based Care and Support Government and NGOs support community-based “Support Groups for people affected by HIV and AIDS Provision of support clubs for in- and out-of-school children Provision of school boarding facilities, especially for girls School feeding and vegetable gardens Improving the school infrastructure to be child- friendly – ensuring availability of water, sanitation, recreational services etc. Training teachers as lay counsellor and psycho-social support skills Changing the school ethos to be child-centred, child-friendly and rights-based.

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho 12 Care and support continued.. Refocus community attention on schools as child-friendly centres of learning. Include delivery of services such as health, water, sanitation care and support in schools in collaboration with other sectors. Create a gender- disaggregated register for vulnerable children Provide resilience-building programmes for orphans and vulnerable children, including psychosocial support; home-based care visits;

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho 13 Remaining Challenges A number of schools still have poor infrastructure making schooling unattractive Education still not compulsory and some OVC remain out of school The demand for bursaries at secondary level exceed the available resources The paradigm shift required from teachers to realise child-friendly schools will take effort and time to be realised. Social taboos still hamper openness in sex education, life and death and stigmatisation

Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) CEO – PRIMARY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & TRAINING, Kingdom of Lesotho Paramente Phamotse (Mr.) Chief Education Officer – Primary (National EFA Coordinator) Ministry of Education and Training Lesotho P. O. Box Maseru, Lesotho Tel: (+266) Fax: (+266)