There is currently a huge stigma
attached to having a positive HIV diagnosis in Nepal. In September 2009
two children with HIV who had been given scholarships to attend a
private school in Kaski, Western Nepal, by an NGO were expelled due to
pressure applied to the school from other parents.[1] HIV and AIDs are
illnesses that are widely stigmatized and misunderstood, meaning
children with positive diagnoses are often encouraged not to, or
prevented from, completing their education. The educational rights of
HIV positive children need to be protected to ensure that they are given
the same opportunities as all other children to live their lives to its
fullest. Charitable children’s associations, Local Education Officers,
the vice president of PABSON Kaski (the private school association), and
other key stake holders have been working together to ensure that this
is the case.
HIV In Nepal
Estimates
from UNICEF in 2007 [2] suggest that approximately 75,000 people in
Nepal are HIV-positive, including all age groups. The more conservative
figures from the Government of Nepal's National Center for AIDS &
STD Control report that as of the 15th July 2013 there are a total of
22,994 HIV positive people living in Nepal. [3] It’s worth noting that
in both of these cases, neither contain statistics for children under
the age of 15. The HIV situation in Nepal has evolved from a low
prevalence into an epidemic.[4] HIV is no longer the death sentence it
was considered to be in the early 1980s. Advances in testing and
treatment mean that early diagnosis and effective therapies can be
commenced soon after contracting HIV to allow you to remain in good
health and to have a comparable life-span to anyone else.[5] That means
that education and learning important life skills is just as valuable to
the HIV child as it is to any other child. Discovering you have a long
term or potentially life limited illnesses such as the diagnosis of an
illness such as HIV, can however affect your motivation to continue in
education and reach your full potential. Education about the realities
of life with HIV is therefore essential for youths, school children, and
college students both who are HIV positive and negative to remove the
stigma and normalize the condition. It’s also important where possible
to financially support those children from financially unstable
backgrounds with grants and scholarships to ensure that they are able to
rise above their health challenges and educationally achieve.
Sponsoring HIV Education
The Nepalese Government currently doesn’t offer any programs to sponsor education for children with HIV: they are given life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs but no social support.[6] However there is opportunity for HIV positive children whose families aren’t in a position to fund their education. A first-of-its-kind school in Nepal has been established to provide education to HIV-positive children who are excluded from public schools. The Saphalta HIV Siksha Sadan (which translates to “Successful HIV Home and School”) was founded in 2010, currently provides full time education and accommodation for 10 children aged between 3 – 10.[7] With many private and government run schools refusing to admit HIV positive children due to concerns about this affecting their business (with other parents withdrawing their children, for example) this school provides a final lifeline in ensuring these children receive the education they deserve. However with an estimated 5,000 children across the country affected by AIDs, this is merely a drop in the ocean of solving the problem and providing education for HIV positive children. Only removing the stigma of HIV and admitting HIV positive children into main stream schools can truly be the solution. Cultural change is hard to achieve and will involve long-term work with the community. However with organisations to create a greater awareness among parents and the community at large about the realities of HIV, change is not far away.
1 “Changing attitudes on inclusion of HIV positive children in schools”, Voluntary Service Overseas"
2 “Nepal Statistics”, UNICEF,
3 “HIV situation of Nepal”, The National Center for AIDs and STD Control,
4 “HIV and AIDs”, Save the Children,
5 “Coping with HIV diagnosis”, STD Panels,
6 “Nepal: HIV positive children, orphans neglected, Irin News,
7 “In Nepal, Helping AIDs orphans when no one else will”, HIV Plus Magazine,