A qualitative assessment of orphans and vulnerable children in two Zimbabwean districts

This report forms part of a series that examines the work undertaken as part of the Kellogg OVC Intervention Project from 2002 to 2005

South Africas first national, household sero-prevalence survey of HIV and AIDS was conducted in 2002. A second survey was completed in 2005 and this, the third, in 2008.

The provision of universal access to healthcare, a right enshrined in the South African Constitution, is the responsibility of government. Although much progress has been made towards the creation of a national health system which makes 'access to health for all' a reality, much remains to be done.

Education is an essential ingredient of the socio-economic development of any country, and educators are a vital part of any nation's educational system. If educators are sick, or absent from school, or leave the profession, the nation stands to lose. Yet the health status of our educators may go unknown. Prior to this report, there were no primary level South African national data assessing the ill-health and attrition of educators. Rumours about their ill-health and reasons for attrition abounded. It is for this reason that the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) decided to commission the HSRC-led consortium to conduct this nation-wide research assessing the health status and attrition of our educators, with a focus on HIV/AIDS and its determinants.