The government should develop policies aimed at supporting HIV-infected and HIV-affected schoolchildren because school is an important part of a child's life.

The government should develop policies aimed at supporting HIV-infected and HIV-affected schoolchildren because school is an important part of a child's life.

This would help people develop a thorough understanding of HIV-Aids, prevent exclusion and bullying, and encourage educational development, which would improve the health and opportunities for the infected and affected.

Often HIV-positive children take medication, attend hospital appointments and have periods of ill health but are not told why.

This shows the fear infected and affected people have about the reactions of others.

It also adds a complex dynamic to working with HIV- infected and -affected children.

The Department of Health must provide first-aid equipment and trained first-aid personnel for dealing with accidents at schools in which spillage of blood is involved.

But the department should first assess the schools' first-aid needs before allocating resources.

General first-aid and health education for pupils in schools, as part of the curriculum, would deal with most of these issues.

Ideally, as many staff members as possible should be trained in basic first aid.

This training should also be extended to the entire community.

Ishmael Dlamini, Vanderbijlpark