The World Well being Group has acknowledged Botswana for its efforts to forestall the transmission of HIV from expectant moms to unborn youngsters. Officers say no youngsters born to HIV-positive moms this yr had the virus.
WHO awarded Botswana the ‘silver tier’ standing this week; The silver tier certification is given to international locations which have lowered the mother-to-child HIV transmission charge to beneath 5 % and offered prenatal care and anti-retroviral remedy to greater than 90 % of pregnant ladies.
Botswana has achieved the WHO’s goal of an HIV case charge of fewer than 500 per 100,000 stay births.
WHO regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti, in awarding the certificates in Gaborone on Thursday, mentioned Botswana has demonstrated that an AIDS free era is feasible.
“I need to applaud, that is large accomplishment by Botswana, which we all know has one of the vital extreme HIV epidemics. This achievement demonstrates that an HIV/AIDS free era is feasible. It additionally marks an necessary step in the direction of ending AIDS throughout your complete continent. Maybe most significantly, it illustrates the exceptional progress that may be achieved when the wants of moms dwelling with HIV and their youngsters, are prioritized.”
Botswana has the world’s fourth highest HIV prevalence however has made strides in combating the virus.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi says the award acknowledges the nation’s progress in the direction of an HIV-free era.
“The award is given to Botswana and Batswana as testimony for the success of our efforts as a rustic within the path to get rid of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. We’re excited by this growth as a result of we now have been battling the HIV/AIDS pandemic for a few years. The award due to this fact, which is the primary to be awarded to an African nation, demonstrates that our efforts haven’t been in useless,” Masisi mentioned. Additionally noting that HIV charge considerably decreased from 37.4 % in 2003 to 18.4 % in 2019.
HIV-positive younger ladies, like Tlotlo Moilwa, say the nation is on a reassuring path.
“The explanations that drive this alteration is that the second a girl is pregnant, they’re additionally examined for HIV and if the result’s optimistic, at that very second, they enroll for prevention of mother-to-child transmission. This implies they can not infect the unborn child and even throughout beginning,” Moilwa expressed.
With the nation making strides in stopping mother-to-child HIV transmissions, Moilwa says the long run is way brighter for her and different HIV-positive ladies.
“I see an enormous change for our future. In case you have a look at the youth dwelling with HIV in the mean time, plenty of them obtained contaminated at beginning. If proper now infants are born HIV unfavourable, it implies that there is not going to be HIV optimistic younger folks sooner or later if we’re to handle ourselves.”
In response to WHO, 15 international locations globally, have been licensed for eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission, however none had an epidemic as giant as Botswana.