04 Dec 2016

 The Botswana leadership has been hailed for supporting the fight against HIV / AIDS.

Speaking during the commemoration of 2016 World AIDS day in Gaborone on Thursday (December 1), the Minister of Health and Wellness Dorcas Makgato said Batswana remain ever grateful to the country’s leadership for their support in the fight against HIV as well to work on ensuring a healthy lifestyle and social well-being for all citizens.

Ms Makgato said the large extent of success to a fight to HIV/AIDS is attributable to the commitment of the country leadership.

She said because of the leadership, Botswana has been able to allocate funds to launch a successful national HIV and AIDS response, adding that they continue to strengthen HIV interventions by leveraging on Botswana paradigm shift of strengthening preventative services through primary health care.

She mentioned that through the unwavering commitment, Botswana has invested immensely in various prevention and treatment strategies and programmes in her quest to combat the epidemic.

She pointed out that regionally, Botswana is counted among the five countries that have achieved more than 80 percentage coverage of HIV treatment, also saying Botswana is also commended for 72 percentage reduction in AIDS related deaths.

She stipulated that saving lives requires a significant amount of resources and through commitment and support from the leadership and therefore thanked the former presidents and the current president of Botswana President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama for their support.

Ms Makgato nevertheless said while Batswana appreciate the huge investment in HIV and health in general, she cautioned that resources that are diminishing.

She therefore called for a collective work together to eliminate HIV/AIDS saying the vision for the 90-90-90 Fast Track Initiative for ending AIDS by 2030 can be attained if Batswana could put a little more effort in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

She pointed out that recent results from as study done in 30 communities indicate that 83 percent of HIV positive persons knew their HIV status, while 87 percent of those were on treatment and 96 percent were virologically suppressed.

She therefore said ending AIDS by 2030 is an attainable goal if all work together towards achieving the goal.

Meanwhile Ms Makgato also raised a great concern that some 30 per cent of people in Botswana do not know their HIV status.

She encouraged people to visit health facilities and HIV counselling centres to know their status, adding that individuals have to take responsibility for their lives and health by taking the initiative to know their status.

She pointed out that due to immune suppression as a result of HIV, some conditions such as tuberculosis, cancers, diabetes and other opportunistic infections among people living with HIV are on the rise.

Furthermore Ms Makgato spoke on the increasing burden of non-communicable conditions, saying they present another growing epidemic which will overwhelm the health system if Batswana do no take care of their health. ENDS