Stigma still surrounds HIV/AIDS

The study was conducted by John Hopkins Bloomberg (School of Public Health) and amfAR, in partnership with Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA) the results of which are presented in a report titled "Achieving an AIDS-Free Generation for Gay Men and Other Men Having Sex with Other Men (MSM)" in Southern Africa.

Civil society advocates studying the implementation of programmes for gay men and lesbians were conducted in the six southern African countries, namely, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Positive change is happening in Botswana though, as some government officials speak openly about the need to work with MSM. The report says the country is currently poised to be one of the first on the African continent to finance HIV programmes for MSM with public money.