17 Aug 2014

National AIDS Council (NAC) chairperson, Dr Festus Mogae says increase of HIV prevalence rate remains a challenge

Speaking during the NAC meeting in Gaborone on August 14, Dr Mogae said the prevalence rate had increased from 17.1 per cent to 18 per cent

He attributed this to the success of the Anti-Retroval Therapy programme which made HIV/AIDS a terminal disease that one could live with for a longer period.

"We need to remind ourselves further that AIDS is still here and that there are people who died of AIDS related deaths. The musk of treatment makes people believe that AIDS is not a threat,” he said.

He said the rates of new infections also remained the biggest threat and that the nation should continue to look at how best to lower the risks of new infection because the nation was seriously affected. Dr Mogae further said that it was worrisome that AIDS messages were no longer visible in the billboards.

He further told NAC that there was need to engage more to ensure that key populations were properly serviced with the necessary information and care relating to HIV and AIDS to ensure universal access to prevention, treatment and care services.

Key populations were most-at-risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV such as gay and other men who had sex with men (MSM) transgender persons and sex workers.

“We are at a point where the existence of such populations cannot be denied given their current and potential contribution to the epidemic landscape if they are not attended to,” he said.

Dr Mogae further noted that Botswana successfully engaged at the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia that he attended convened under the theme: Stepping up the Pace.Ends