This year, the country hosted the commemoration of the 2022 World AIDS Day under the theme: “Equalise: End Inequalities, End AIDS by 2030” at Hukuntsi Thursday this week.

When addressing the community, President of Botswana Mokgweetsi Masisi explained that the theme provided a wake up call to people to work for practical actions needed to address inequalities and help end AIDS. He further pointed out that the theme also resonated well with government’s policies that stressed the importance of removing inequalities that often hinder access to quality health services and those related to HIV in particular.

“In line with this theme, Botswana commits to taking all the necessary steps to remove impediments to accessing services by populations at a greater risk of contracting HIV and to tackle practices that perpetuate stigma and discrimination faced by people living with HIV. The removal of these impediments will ensure that no one is left behind in the provision of HIV/ AIDS services. Once this hurdle is overcome, we would know that we are on the right track to ending AIDS as a public health threat by the United Nations target date of 2030,” he said.

He further added that the country had significant achievements in its fight against HIV and AIDS. He said the final results of the fifth Botswana AIDS Impact Survey, commonly referred to as BAIS V, which was conducted in 2021, demonstrated that this country realised a reduction in incidence, or new HIV infections, from 1.35% in 2013 to 0.2% in 2021.

Masisi added that during the same period, they witnessed a steady decline in the AIDS related deaths from 6 460 to 4 600 per annum, whereas the prevalence rate among the adult population aged 15 to 64 years increased to 20.8% in 2021 from 18.5% in 2013. He pointed out that the increase in prevalence demonstrated the success of their interventions in the management of the HIV and AIDS pandemic within the population including adherence to treatment, leading to viral suppression and positive living of citizens who had contracted HIV.

The President also stated that almost all the 329 000 Batswana currently living with HIV were on life saving treatment adding that 98% of them were virally suppressed. He therefore expressed appreciation to the Government of the United States of America, the Global Fund, the United Nations family and Civil Society for their immense contributions and support to our fight against HIV and AIDS over the years.

“I also want to pay tribute to our very own heroes and heroines of the struggle against the HIV and AIDS pandemic for their gallant bravery and invaluable contribution to the fight since the early days of the pandemic. These include those who went public about their HIV positive status at a time when those who did so had to endure stigma and discrimination. This includes those who placed their hands on the deck and requested to be counted among those in the forefront of combating the disease. To show gratitude for their contributions, we will recognize them by awarding them certificates of appreciation today,” he said.

Moreover, he pointed out that despite those successes, they could not afford to be complacent. He explained that there were still population groups that remained at a greater risk of contracting HIV than the general population. Those includes adolescent girls and boys as well as young women and men, people with disabilities, sex workers, men who have sex with men and other vulnerable populations bearing a disproportionately high burden of HIV and AIDS.

In this regard, Masisi said his Government remained committed towards legal reforms aimed at removing all impediments to access HIV services by those vulnerable populations. He also pointed out that over the years, a lot of investment had gone into building the country’s capacity and resilience for dealing effectively with HIV and AIDS. He said such unparalleled dedication to fighting this pandemic produced very encouraging results adding that an AIDS free generation was now a real possibility.