Nasha takes swipe at Khama�s HIV policy :: Mmegi Online

The Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Margaret Nasha has taken another swipe at President Ian Khama’s administration, accusing it of being in denial about the need to avail HIV treatment to people in same-sex relationships. This comes on the heels of Nasha dismissing as flimsy the government’s reasons for not signing into law the SADC Gender Protocol.

Speaking at the just ended Eminent Women’s Dialogue gathering, Nasha, a senior member of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party, said Botswana is yet to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other communicable diseases, as it does not provide universal access to treatment. She said there are still groups in Botswana, such as homosexuals, foreign prisoners and refugees, who are unable to access HIV treatment.

The Speaker told the UNFPA hosted meeting, going under the theme ‘Building the Future- Accelerating Gender Equality for the Post-2015 Development’, that Botswana has been unable to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS. She said that this was due largely to the campaign against HIV losing its vigour. The country’s HIV prevalence rate currently stands at 17.6 percent.

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