The Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNICEF, Centres of Disease Control and other development partners are expected to launch a project dubbed Operation Tripple Zero next week Thursday.
According to a press statement, the ‘operation’ comes at the backdrop of a realisation that although Botswana has made strides in combating the HIV epidemic, there is still more to be done to deal with stigma against children and and adolescents living with HIV.
“Although Botswana has made major strides in addressing the HIV epidemic, stigma and discrimination, continue to pose a significant barrier for children and adolescents living with HIV, to accessing HIV testing and treatment services, staying on treatment and becoming virally suppressed,”the statement reads in part.
The latest Botswana AIDS Impact Survey (BAIS V) launched in 2023, shows that young people’s HIV treatment outcomes seem lower compared to adults'. Adolescent girls and young women are proportionately more affected and continue to face gender-based inequalities and violence.
“To tackle this HIV treatment gap among adolescents, and address some underlying contributors to poor treatment outcomes, the Ministry of Health (MoH) has partnered with the National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency (NAHPA), UNICEF, CDC, Botswana-Baylor and Sentebale, to launch a comprehensive package of interventions aimed at strengthening the capacity of the national response to cater for the specific needs of adolescents living with HIV,” the statement further reads.
