07 Feb 2023

 Botswana is well positioned to eliminate HIV and AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, UNAIDS country director and representative, Mr Alankar Malviya said Friday. He was speaking at a community dialogue dubbed Pitso ya Borre in Thabala. 

Mr Malviya said results from the fifth Botswana Impact Survey (BAIS V) showed that Batswana had exceeded UNAIDS’ 95-95-95 target, which challenged countries to ensure that 95 per cent of all their people living with HIV were aware of their status, that 95 per cent of those were on antiretroviral treatment (ART) and 95 per cent of those on ART achieved viral load suppression. 

“Among adults (15-64 years) in Botswana living with HIV, 95.1 per cent were aware of their status, 98 per cent of those familiar with their status were on ART and 97.9 per cent of those on ART achieved viral load suppression. BAIS V also showed that HIV prevalence among adults was 20.9 per cent, 15.4 percent among men and 26.3 among women,” said Mr Malviya. 

He said the results were a demonstration of the extra-ordinary impact of the national HIV response by Botswana, and evidenced tremendous progress made by the country toward eliminating HIV. The achievement he said, was only one of several major ones that Botswana had made in the fight against HIV and AIDS. 

He said: “Botswana was the first country to achieve a 100 per cent Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV,” and urged citizens to continue prioritising HIV preventive action. 

In particular, he urged men to change their mindset as that would help to curb the spread of HIV and AIDS. 

Men and boys, he said, needed to appreciate that they were not super-human, so much so that they were invincible to disease. 

To that end, he urged them to visit health facilities for early diagnosis and care. “Real men respect themselves, their health and families,” he said. 

Meanwhile Botswana Faith Based Organisations Network on HIV/AIDS and Health Promotion (BOFABONETHA) chairperson Reverend Mpho Moruakgomo urged men and boys to always be faithful to their partners and desist from engaging in multiple concurrent relationships, which he said fueled the spread of HIV/AIDS. 

Rev Moruakgomo advised men and boys to undergo safe male circumcision as it not only helped in matters of hygiene butalso reduced chances of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

He further encouraged men to steer clear of alcohol abuse and smoking, saying these could negatively affect their sex life by causing among others, erectile dysfunction. 

Similarly urging men and boys to regularly visit health facilities for general check-ups, he said non-communicable diseases such as high blood pressure and sugar diabetes could affect their sex life but that they could have normal lives if they received timely diagnosis and treatment.

 Former cabinet minister Mr Keletso Rakhudu dissuaded men and boys from being perpetrators of Gender-Based Violence (GBV). There were amicable ways of resolving conflicts in relationships and marriages, he exhorted. Mr Desmond Lunga of BOFABONETHA implored men to guide boys into knowing that women and girls were critical members of the family and therefore should not be subjected to abuse. Mr Lunga further spoke against ‘absent fathers’, saying men should draw pride from being responsible parents who contributed in the upbringing of their own children ENDS