15 Apr 2019

Government is committed to contribute towards ending AIDS in Botswana by 2030. 

Officiating at the launch of Sowa town mayor’s 90-90-90 campaign recently, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Ms Ruth Maphorisa  said the campaign was one of the many government efforts towards ending AIDS in the country. 

She said the campaign started in December 2014 when mayors around the world met and through the Paris declaration pledged to commit to the ending of the epidemic by 2030.

Ms Maphorisa said since then Botswana mayors had pledged their commitment making Sowa Town it the 6th in the country following Gaborone, Francistown, Jwaneng, Lobatse and Selebi-Phikwe.

 The launch, she explained, sprung forth the commitment of the political leadership of Sowa Town in attaining the 90-90-90 global targets premised on 90 per cent of people who were HIV positive knowing their status, 90 per cent of HIV positive people enrolling on Anti Retroval Treatment and 90 per cent of the people enrolled on the treatment to be virally suppressed by 2020.

    The initiative, she said, called for epidemic control by the year 2020 through the attainment of global targets. 

Ms Maphorisa said through political drive and leadership, communities would respond positively to HIV prevention and uptake of health services. 

“This is pivotal in pushing forward the spread of prevention messages, mobilising communities for testing and uptake of health services,” she said.

  In addition, Ms Maphorisa said the launch theme of:  “Update Your HIV Status” is a clarion call for the community of Sowa Town and its leadership to update their status by testing for HIV and other health conditions.

    She said this would enable them to access health services on time if they tested positive so that they were enrolled on treatment irrespective of their CD4 count, which was a way of preventing new infections.

    On the state of HIV epidemic in the country, National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency coordinator Mr Richard Matlhare said over 380 000 Batswana were living with the virus.

 The firgure, he said, put Botswana third in world after  eSwatini and Lesotho.

    Mr Matlhare said more females were affected than males.

  However, Mr Matlhare said  the country had registered some humble successes by reducing HIV infection from incidence rate of 1.45 to 1.35 per cent and reducing HIV deaths from about 20 000 to around 4 000 a year.   

    He said there was a reduction of mother to child infection rate from about 40 per cent in 2006 to the current below 1.4 per cent.

Mr Matlhare lamented that some mothers failed to follow medical doctors’ orders saying some HIV positive mothers enrolled  on the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission treatment defaulted on bringing babies for testing six weeks after birth. 

    He said in 2018, only 52.9 per cent of babies were tested after six weeks which meant almost half,  47.1 per cent,  did not know their status. 

 Mr Matlhare condemned the practice stressing that parents needed to take their responsibilities seriously.

    Meanwhile, Sowa Town mayor Mr George Maphane welcomed the launch and pledged his commitment towards achieving the global targets.ENDS