Botswana Makes Strides in HIV Fight
Lobatse — Botswana has made progress toward achievement of the global UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals ahead of the 2030 deadline, says National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency, deputy national coordinator, Ms Tebogo Hlabano.
According to Ms Hlabano, the country had so far reached 95 per cent of people living with HIV and knowing their status, 98 per cent of those diagnosed and on Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) and 98 per cent of all people on ART achieving viral suppression.
She said this during the International AIDS candlelight memorial held in Lobatse on May 23.
Additionally, she said, while notable progress had been achieved in treatment and prevention, Botswana was still among the four most affected countries globally, with an incidence rate of 0.2 percent translating to 2 200 new cases reported annually, according to BAIS V (2021).
She said the national HIV prevalence stood at 20.8 per cent, which represented approximately 329 000 adults living with HIV.
She thus called for all to access HIV services and test for HIV in large numbers so that those who were found to be HIV positive could be enrolled on treatment for immediate results
The UNAIDS Country Director for Botswana and Namibia, Dr Kai Zhou cautioned that AIDS was not yet over.
Globally, she said there were still 9.2 million people who could not access HIV treatment adding that there were 630 000 AIDS related deaths and 1.3 million people acquired HIV in 2024.
On the significance of the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, she said it was one the world’s oldest and most important grassroots movements in the HIV response as it provided communities with a space to mourn, to remember loved ones, and to stand together against stigma and discrimination.
In addition, she said the memorial also served as a reminder that behind every statistic was a human story, a family, and a community determined to leave no one behind.
“This memorial is more than a ceremony. It is a powerful reminder of the lives we have lost, the progress we have made, and the work that still lies ahead,” she said.
