22 May 2023

Uptake of PrEP  or injectable HIV preventing medicine is anticipated to increase as the Ministry of Health and stakeholders are working on improving implementation logistics.

Ministry of Health spokesperson, Dr Christopher Nyanga said  despite being highly received as an HIV prevention method, PrEP uptake had remained low.

Quoting the 2017 behavioural and biological surveillance survey, he said knowledge of the method by key populations such as sex workers had increased from six per cent to 85 per cent but the uptake was about 50 per cent.

Among men who had sex with other men, knowledge of injectable HIV prevention medicine had increased from 13 per cent to 65 per cent with an uptake of 60 per cent, Dr Nyanga said. 

With regard to adolescent girls and young women, he said the uptake was about 30 per cent.

Dr Nyanga said among groups using the injectable medicine, female sex workers were in the lead compared to their male counterparts. 

He said it had not yet been established whether the uptake was more among men or women in the general public.

Dr Nyanga explained that the medicine had been registered in Botswana with the intention of introducing it later this year.

He said the injectable medicine would be expensive at the beginning but the price would come down with the availability of generics.

Injections would be more convenient as they would be administered every two months, he said. 

Dr Nyanga said PrEP had been used mainly in the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS (PEPFAR) supported districts.

The districts, covering the eastern part of Botswana, had high numbers of HIV, he said.

Dr Nyanga said the current one-pill approach had improved adherence as it was more convenient and that it had less side effects compared to ATRIPLA which was the main treatment line before TLD.

According to him, the approach had made it easy for patients to receive multi-month doses because of the convenience of carrying and storage.

On other issues, he said new infections were high among the youth, especially females.

Dr Nyanga revealed that there was a decline in condom use among key populations resulting in the high spreading of HIV and sexually transmitted infections.

He said despite the treat all strategy, 25 per cent of patients were diagnosed with advanced HIV and a CD4 count of below 200.

HIV related cancers, he said, were also on the rise as well as non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among the aging HIV population. 

Also of concern was the continued stigmatisation and  discrimination of people living with HIV as well as increasing incidence of Gender Based Violence on women.

Meanwhile Dr Nyanga has advised Batswana to follow their HIV treatment plans and health care workers’ advice on how to conduct themselves regardless of HIV status. Ends