16 Jun 2014

HIV infection is still the biggest challenge facing the country, says coordinator of the National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA), Ms Grace Muzila.

Briefing the media on Monday, June 16, about the recent Botswana AIDS Impact Survey (BAIS) IV, she said the national HIV prevalence rate was estimated at 18.5 per cent among people aged 18 months and above. 

Ms Muzila noted that the figure was 17.6 per cent in BAIS III. She said within the same population, HIV incidence rate was estimated at 1.35 per cent, which translated to between 10 000 and 12 000 new infections annually. 

The fourth AIDS impact survey was aimed at updating the national HIV estimates among the population aged six weeks to 64 years. The survey also aimed to update indicative trends in sexual and preventive behaviour among the population aged 10-64 years. 

The survey was also meant to provide a comparison between HIV rate, behaviour, knowledge, attitude, poverty and cultural factors that were associated with the epidemic.

Ms Muzila said the results showed that nearly 50.6 per cent of females aged 35 to 39 lived with HIV while the prevalence rate was 43.8 per cent for males aged between 40 to 44 years.

However, Ms Muzila noted that there had been a decline in HIV prevalence among the younger age groups over the years. She said HIV prevalence among 20-24 year olds declined from 12.3 per cent in 2008 to 10.3 per cent in 2013.

 Another decline in prevalence rate was recorded among the 25-29 year old group, which dropped from 25.9 per cent in 2008 to 21.2 per cent in 2013. “These recorded declines make the possibility of an HIV free generation a reality,” said Ms Muzila.

The NACA coordinator said the results of BAIS IV showed that less than 50 per cent of young people had comprehensive knowledge to protect themselves from HIV infection.

She said the results required all stakeholders, especially the media, to intensify their efforts in opening channels of communication and fostering discussions about HIV.

For his part, the deputy statistician general, Mr Dabilani Buthali said BAIS IV was a cross-sectional survey that covered the entire country save for the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve (CKGR) and the Okavango Delta, as there were logistical challenges to carrying out the survey in the areas. 

However, he said the two areas accounted for less than 0.1 per cent of the population, adding that their exclusion did not affect the results, which he described as “fairly credible and reliable.” ENDS