HIV/Aids in Africa 2001

5m new infections 2.3m deaths 28m living with Aids Life expectancy: 47 years Without Aids: 62 years 44% of pregnant urban women in Botswana HIV+

Some 12% of teachers in South Africa, 19% of teachers in Zambia and 30% of teachers in Botswana are infected with the virus that causes Aids, said Professor Donald Bundy, the lead author of the study.

In Zambia, Aids is killing 1,000 teachers a year - which until last year was equal to the total output of the nation's teacher colleges.

Even before it kills, Aids ravages the ranks of teachers.

During the average 10-year course of the disease, Aids leads to high levels of teacher absenteeism, and these teachers are often not replaced.

In Botswana, funeral attendance is second only to illness in Aids-related absenteeism amongst teachers.

In countries most impacted by the disease, many schools struggle with only one or two teachers where there should be 10, Dr Bundy said.

And despite high adult mortality rates, in all but six of the hardest hit countries , student populations are still increasing, which means the demand for teachers continues to increase.

Education stops spread

In the poorest countries of the world, 113 million children do not attend school.

"Everyone is trying to improve education, and Aids is making that battle that much harder," Dr Bundy said.

Of the 55 countries that the World Bank believes are unlikely to achieve education for all, 31 are those worst affected by Aids.

And in those countries hardest hit by Aids, the disease will add half a billion dollars to the finance gap that those countries need to achieve education for all of their children.

Studies have shown that education slows the spread of Aids

But Dr Bundy is hopeful that education can still be used to slow rates of infection and keep children who are not infected from contracting HIV.

There are many studies that show that education decreases the rates of infection, he said.

"In Zambia in the 1990s, HIV infection rates fell by almost half amongst educated women, while there was little or no decline in women who hadn't gone to school," Dr Bundy said.

The World Bank study says universal basic education is critical to stemming the spread of HIV and that girls and an increasing number of Aids orphans must be guaranteed an education.

Despite the grim numbers, "we do have a window of hope," Dr Bundy said.

Even in countries with the highest infection rates - Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland - most school-aged children are not infected, he said, and "there is no reason that these children should ever become infected".