Children in primary school : the window of hope or the window of concern

Age-related data regularly show AIDS cases being at their lowest for boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 14. The low occurrence of AIDS among those aged 5-14 has led to children in this age range being regarded as constituting a "window of hope". Programmes targeted at this group are seen as providing a special opportunity to prevent infections and reduce the transmission of the disease.However, a number of circumstances relating to the way schools are organised and managed increase the risk of HIV infection for students, teachers and the community in which the school is embedded.