UNAIDS has hailed Botswana’s decision to extend free HIV treatment to foreign residents in a major policy shift that closes a significant gap in the country’s response to the epidemic.
“I commend Botswana for extending free treatment to foreign residents living with HIV,”, UNAIDS executive director Gunilla Carlsson said in a statement on Thursday.
He said the move is “another example of Botswana’s leadership and its determination to leave no one behind in the response to HIV.”
According to Carlsson, Botswana’s Ministry of Health and Wellness consulted closely with UNAIDS, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the International Organization for Migration, other United Nations agencies and other development partners to develop the new policy.
Under the policy, the Botswana government will issue a special directive to allow health facilities to provide treatment to all people living with HIV residing in the country.
There are an estimated 30,000 foreign residents living with HIV in Botswana, but less than a quarter of them currently have access to treatment.
Many foreign residents are unable to afford medicines or to return home to seek medical help.
Botswana has the third highest HIV prevalence rate in the world, with more than one in five of the adult population aged 15–49 years living with the virus.
In 2016, the country adopted a treat-all strategy by extending free treatment to all its citizens living with HIV, a step that has been yielding significant results.
AIDS-related deaths have decreased by a third, with new HIV infections down by 36 percent during the past few years.
KO/jn/APA