09 Nov 2022

The Ministry of Health has recognised the importance of communities in sustaining any gains made in the health sector, says Dr Edwin Dikoloti.

  The health minister told delegates to the 8th Botswana International HIV Conference in Gaborone Tuesday that in the process, the ministry had focused on people-oriented primary health care.

  Other focus areas were responsive health care system at all levels, developing the country’s value chain system, human capital development and partnership, said Dr Dikoloti.

For many years,  he said, communities were left behind as the ministry planned for them and delivered what it felt was needed.

Now the ministry did not only provide health services but also built community resilience by making communities drivers of programmes and campaigns, the minister said.

 Dr Dikoloti said the conference’s theme, New Generation, New Opportunities: Building Resilience Within Our Communities, resonated well as his ministry recognised the need to address the broader determinants of health through multi-sectoral policy and action.

He said the ministry was empowering individuals, families and communities to take charge of their own health while driving the overall community welfare and developmental agenda.

Dr Dikoloti said building resilience within communities was central to people-oriented primary health care.

He explained that primary health care was aimed at delivering quality care that was equitable, efficient, responsive and met population demands in a culturally appropriate manner  without leaving no one behind.

“It’s for the people, by the people and to the people,” he said.

Dr Dikoloti said the theme was also fully in sync with the Reset Agenda on revitalising Botswana’s primary health care system.

Turning to HIV, Dr Dikoloti hailed the country’s achievements which he said  bore testimony  to life saving efforts Botswana had made since the first case was detected in the 80s.

“We have indeed been able to build community resilience during this journey,” he said.

Botswana, he said, had just been recognised as one of the few countries to have surpassed the UN’s 2030 target of  95-95-95.

The country currently stands at 95-97-98.

Minister Dikoloti also mentioned that WHO had given Botswana silver tier recognition for being the first high-burden country to achieve an important milestone towards eliminating mother-to-child transmission.

“It is pleasing that we have been able to bring down mother-to-child HIV transmission rate to under  five per cent, one of the lowest in the world,” he said.

 The minister said in addition, Botswana provided antenatal care and antiretroviral treatment to more than 90 per cent of pregnant women.

Dr Dikoloti applauded the Botswana HIV Clinicians Society for hosting the conference, saying the organisation continued to play an important role in advancing medical education and supporting health professionals from both public and private sectors.

He said it had become clear that the answer to HIV prevention and care was a call beyond the bio-medical approach.

“Responding to the HIV epidemic is a developmental challenge and should be treated as such,” he said adding that all sectors of society were therefore needed to collaborate and implement in ways that took cognisance of their roles and special contributions to the fight against HIV.

The four-day conference brought speakers from around the world to deliberate on HIV issues and share insights. Ends