Government’s failure to implement an antiretroviral programme for HIV-positive teachers means every day that goes by is costing the state more money than if the drugs were provided, says the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Speaking in debate on the public service and administration budget in the National Assembly, DA member of Parliament (MP) Mike Waters said his party had done an actuarial study on the direct cost to the state of HIV-positive teachers’ health and death benefits.
It had then compared these figures to the cost of providing antiretrovirals to such teachers.
”The average cost of providing high-quality, triple therapy for the lifetime of an HIV-positive person is R160 000.
”This figure does not take into account inevitable declines in drug prices over the next few years, and the fact that the state — through pure economics of scale — could negotiate sharply reduced prices,” he said.
The DA calculated that, on average, across the various salary grades, years of service, and age of onset of illness, a teacher who retired on grounds of ill health and subsequently died would receive a payout of R177 223.
For a teacher who died in service, the payout would be R181 186.
The education department employed 392 061 teachers, of whom, according to its own report, about 18%, or 70 000 teachers, were currently HIV-positive.
”It becomes very clear then, that the cost of providing antiretroviral therapy vastly outweighs the benefits of ignoring the problem.
”It must also be remembered that the costs are purely those that will be incurred directly by the state.”
They did not include the indirect factors, such as treating opportunistic infections, productivity losses, or the social costs of the death of a breadwinner or only parent, Waters said. – Sapa