GABORONE, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Recent uncertainties in HIV donor support for Botswana's response-related activities have no doubt led to disruptions in the southern African country's prevention and treatment services, Minister of Health Stephen Modise said Monday at the World AIDS Day commemoration event.
"This should be the time when all stakeholders in the response, be they government entities, civil society, faith-based organizations, the private sector, together with development partners, need to innovate new strategies of resource mobilization," Modise said in his speech during the event held at Kanye village, southwest of Gaborone, the capital of Botswana.
Earlier this year, the United States paused some foreign aid, including funding under U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which had supported HIV prevention and treatment in countries such as Botswana.
Botswana must commit to becoming more efficient in the delivery of its health services and ensure that wastage becomes a thing of the past, said the minister. "We must collectively step up and protect the gains we have already made thus far in our fight against HIV."
Modise noted that the country has surpassed the global UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, achieving a rate of 95.1 percent of people living with HIV knowing their status, 98 percent of those diagnosed on treatment, and 97.9 percent of those on treatment achieving viral suppression among adults aged 15-64.
Moreover, Modise said that an estimated 4,120 people contracted HIV in Botswana last year. Notably, 1,180 of these new infections were among adolescents and young women aged 15 to 24.
He called for urgent, targeted action, adding that HIV prevention measures must be intensified for this age group and for those in hard-to-reach areas, and the Health Ministry will continue specialized programing for adolescent girls, young women, boys, and men to close the remaining gaps. ■
