In countries hard-hit by HIV/AIDS, school availability has fallen precipitously. Substantial numbers of teachers are ill, dying or caring for family members. In the late 1990s, for instance, more than 100 schools were forced to close in the Central African Republic because of AIDS-related deaths. In 2000, AIDS was reported to be responsible for 85 per cent of the 300 teacher deaths The quality of education has also dropped in many regions. The illness and death of qualified personnel threaten management of the education system. Rural schools often lose staff because teachers affected by HIV flock to urban areas so that they.
