Is this the magic pill to end HIV?

Gateway to hope: The country's largest public hospital is at the forefront of the fight against HIV
Gateway to hope: The country's largest public hospital is at the forefront of the fight against HIV

Last year, Botswana became the first country in Africa to introduce a new HIV drug called ‘dolutegravir’ that some are calling the Magic Pill. But will it really deliver on the hype? Mmegi Correspondent, NNASARETHA KGAMANYANE writes.

HIV is no longer the death sentence it once was. More than 30 years ago, there was nothing that doctors and medical health practitioners could do to help patients. The little they could do was offer comforting words to patients who had been diagnosed with the virus. However, as the years and researchers intensified their efforts, new different HIV treatments emerged to help people live longer.

 While there remains no cure for HIV or AIDS, remarkable advancements in treatments and clinical understanding of how the disease progresses are allowing doctors to help patients live longer, fuller lives. Some of these patients even die of non-HIV related diseases or causes.

Editor's Comment
Gov’t must rectify recognition of Khama as Kgosi

While it is widely acknowledged that Khama holds the title of Kgosi, the government’s failure to properly gazette his recognition has raised serious concerns about adherence to legal procedures and the credibility of traditional leadership. (See a story elsewhere in this newspaper.) Recent court documents by the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Kgotla Autlwetse, shed light on the intricacies of Khama’s recognition process....

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