11 Jun 2024

People living with HIV and their families often face significant challenges associated with persistent stigma and discrimination which reverses efforts made in the fight against HIV/ AIDS pandemic.

This was echoed by Minister of Communications, Knowledge and Technology Mr Thulagano Segokgo during the International Candlelight Memorial in Tlokweng on Sunday.

The minister who is also MP for Tlokweng said stigma and discrimination lead to feelings of shame, inferiority, hopelessness and lack of self-esteem. He said people living with HIV felt isolated and had suicidal tendencies that prevented individuals from seeking care and support in a timely manner.

“The Global Stigma Index report has highlighted that 84.8 per cent of people living with HIV have experienced self- stigma. This was echoed in the recent Botswana People Living with HIV Stigma Index 2.0 Study which found high levels of internalised stigma.

In that study 30.3 per cent of participants reported difficulty disclosing their status, 23.4 per cent hid their status, and 13.9 per cent felt guilty about their HIV status. Notably, males tended to report higher levels of stigma compared to females” he said.

Mr Segokgo said by addressing self-stigma the perpetual negative narrative around HIV transmission could be stopped and dispel myths and misinformation about life with HIV. He said in partnership with government and development partners’ resources, infrastructure and technologies were available to put an end to stigma and discrimination.

“Above all Botswana and her people have demonstrated strong political will and commitment to achieve this goal-ending stigma and discrimination. We know how much pain stigma has caused us, the increasing need for mental health services, and the incredible power of self-worth, self-love, and solidarity impact how we access and use treatment and achieve quality of life” he said.

He said government had established effective treatment programmes which people living with HIV must seek to access and use. He said Botswana recently concluded the People living with HIV Stigma Index 2.0 Study led by BONEPWA with support from NAHPA and UNAIDS.

The minister said the survey findings would facilitate in addressing underlying issues related to HIV stigma and discrimination in Botswana. Mr Segokgo said Botswana was doing relatively well in achieving the UNAIDS 95-95-95 Fast Track targets. He noted that according to the Botswana AIDS Impact Survey (BAIS V) 95 per cent of people living with HIV in the country know their status; of these 98 per cent are on ART and 98 per cent of ART recipients were virally suppressed which marked a significant achievement.

For his part Director of Health Promotion at NAHPA Mr Robert Selato reiterated that Botswana had made a lot of progress in the fight against HIV/ AIDS. He applauded government’s intervention by providing policies and programmes aimed at addressing the challenges of those living with HIV/AIDS.

He said the prevalence rate of those aged 25 to 64 was at 27 percent which was even more than the national figure. He said this indicated that the country was facing an aging population living with HIV.

Mr Selato said less than one percent of children was born to HIV positive mothers which was an indication of the effectiveness of the PMTCT programme. He urged Batswana to test timely and enrol for treatment at the earliest possible convenience as government had rolled out programmes for such. Ends