27 Oct 2022

The accolades Botswana has received for its HIV/AIDS achievements reassures partners that their investment in the country’s HIV response is yielding the desired results. 

 This was said by Vice President Slumber Tsogwane at a National AIDS and Health Promotion (NAHPA) Council meeting in Gaborone yesterday.

 It was useful feedback about progress Botswana continued to make in the fight against HIV and was a source of great encouragement to civil society organisations involved in the HIV response, he said.

 It demonstrated that their contribution was creating the necessary impact and taking the country a step further towards ending AIDS as a public health threat, added the vice president.

   Mr Tsogwane’s remarks come in the wake of accolades showered on Botswana at the July 27-August 2 international AIDS conference in Canada for being one of the few countries that have achieved UNAIDS targets for HIV testing, treatment and viral suppression.

 He noted that the conference acknowledged Botswana’s remarkable achievement of 98 per cent viral suppression among people enrolled on HIV treatment, which meant the country was on course to achieving epidemic control and ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

Mr Tsogwane stated that Botswana also received positive feedback for progress made in removing legal impediments to accessing services by key populations as well as addressing human rights issues.

He said the feedback was given during the SADC meeting for national AIDS councils directors held in South Africa last month.

Vice President Tsogwane said the meeting expressed pleasure at the country’s November 2021 Court of Appeal judgement on same-sex relationships.

 The judgement had paved the way for legal reforms that would benefit key populations, he stated.

Mr Tsogwane said in addition to addressing legal and human rights issues, concerted efforts still had to be made to achieve a marked decline in new HIV infections among key populations.

That was achievable through prioritising such populations in service provision programming, he said.

The vice president said the nation needed to pay particular attention to population groups most at risk of contracting HIV such as sex workers and their clients, men-who-have-sex-with men, adolescent girls and young women and victims of gender-based violence.

On another issue, Mr Tsogwane noted a disturbing trend of increasing Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) cases in Botswana which he said called for concerted efforts by all stakeholders.

He commended NAHPA and the Ministry of Health in their endeavour to create awareness about the dangers of NCDs.

The vice president applauded civil society organisations that had been contracted by NAHPA to mobilise and offer screening services on a variety of cancers which accounted for many NCDs-related mortalities.

He also hailed the  Kanye to Gaborone “walk for life campaign” led by Minister of Health, Dr Edwin Dikoloti October 10-15.

Calling on the public to be physically  active, Mr Tsogwane said exercise was ‘the cornerstone for delaying the onset of NCDs and boosts the body to fight against such conditions’.

The public was also advised to eat healthily. ENDS