Muzila commits FCC to ending HIV infections
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday January 31, 2017 16:00
With the project the city mayor commits to achieve the 90-90-90 HIV treatment target.
Briefing media, Muzila said cities are now uniquely positioned to lead fast-track action towards achieving the 90-90-90 target by 2020. The 90-90-90 initiative states: By 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status. By 2020, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy. By 2020, 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.” Muzila said Botswana is amongst the countries with the highest HIV prevalence of 18.5% and Francistown the hardest hit with prevalence of 24.3%. She said that the project also commits to ensure stigma and discrimination reaches zero percent level by the year 2020.
Muzila said studies established that the rate at which HIV infection spread here causes concern and needs immediate attention. “Botswana has demonstrated a strong commitment in responding to its HIV and AIDS epidemic and has become exemplary for many in sub-Saharan Africa”. As mayors they have “committed themselves to fight and stop HIV infections and other related diseases such as Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and Tuberculosis,” Muzila said.
Recently it was reported that the significant increase of HIV/AIDS within the youth age group and gender being females aged 30-34 years is at 46.8%. It was further reported that females remain highly infected, registering 56% while males are at 36.6% whilst the sexually active group of 15-49 years has its prevalence at 29.9%.
The mayor said using the 90-90-90 targets they have committed themselves to address risk causes or factors that make people more vulnerable. “We have committed ourselves to reach out to sex workers, homosexuals, drug addicts to mention but a few to find ways in which the spread of HIV can be addressed amongst these groups of people,” Muzila said. When giving the overview of HIV profile of greater Francistown, head of preventative care under Francistown District Health Management Team (DHMT) Dr Tebogo Mokgwane said Batswana are still reluctant to test for HIV hence the need to be encouraged to test.
He said through the ‘Kick out Tuberculosis (TB), Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and HIV campaign from October to December 2016 they managed to influence 7,743 clients in Francistown get tested. “During the campaign we managed to test 9,072 people in greater Francistown. Amongst them 734 people tested HIV positive. We also discovered that 21,904 people in Francistown and 32,096 in Greater Francistown are on ARV treatment,” Mokgwane said.
Mokgwane said if they can achieve the first 90% of encouraging people to test and know their HIV status it will be easy for them to achieve the other two 90 targets. He urged the youth of greater Francistown to take advantage of the mayor’s 90-90-90 project to work towards preventing new infections by, among other things, rejecting the behaviour that make it easy for HIV to spread.
The Minister of Health and Wellness Dorcas Makgato will launch the 90-90-90 project here on January 31.