Tanzanian children with HIV to wear red ribbon on uniforms
Schoolchildren in Tanzania are being made to wear a red ribbon on their uniforms to show that they are HIV positive.
Photo: Reuters
8:29AM GMT 18 Mar 2012
The headmaster of one of the schools, in the northwest district of Kibaha,
said the unusual move was done at the parents' request to ensure ill pupils
were not made to undertake tasks that might affect their health.
But campaigners say that revealing another person's HIV status is illegal
under Tanzanian
law and punishable by up to three years imprisonment.
Around five per cent of the population – some 1.4m people – have HIV in
Tanzania. While the rate is no higher than in most East African countries,
the infection rate for women is higher than for men and it is often
transmitted to children.
Mohammed Lukema, head of Kibaha Primary School, said parents had asked for
their children to wear red ribbons if they were infected so they could be
excused from strenuous duties at the rural school, such as sweeping the
compound and fetching and carrying water.
He insisted that they were not judged as a result. "Our school has pupils
who are suffering from various diseases," he told the BBC.
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