Botswana: Mogae Denies 33 Percent Aids Prevalence Rate
The overall HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Botswana is about 17.1 percent, instead of the 33 percent reported by the UNAIDS organization, said Botswana President Festus Mogae in a Monday interview.
"The figures used by the UN were based on sample surveys on expectant women, who were not adequately representative," Mogae said. "And the correct national prevalence rate is about 17.1 per cent."
"There are age cohorts where the prevalence is much higher, almost double the national rate ... and as you see at the bottom, in the 15 to 24 age cohort, the prevalence rate is about 10 percent," he said.
"That's how we have 17 per cent." Mogae acknowledged that Botswana was "seriously affected by HIV/ AIDS" and the country "has had to take special measures to fight the pandemic."
Botswana is reported to have one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world, yet there are positive trends - the free anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment has prolonged many lives, the HIV transmission from mother to child has significantly decreased, and the rate of new infections in the young is decreasing.
Mogae said the prevention of mother-to-child transmission was very important because it gave the country the hope of an AIDS-free generation.
He said that with the free routine testing of everybody, more and more women were receiving tests for HIV/AIDS, with about 85 to 90 per cent of the pregnant mothers agreeing to be tested, and the same percentage of those who tested positive agreeing to be put under ARV therapy.
"As a result of the increased compliance, the number of HIV-positive babies born to HIV-positive mothers has fallen from 40 per cent to a registered 6 per cent. That has been a dramatic improvement," said Mogae.
However, Mogae acknowledged that "on the whole, the problem remains very, very big." According to Mogae, roughly over 75,000 people in Botswana have registered as HIV positive, and over 68,000 of them are on ARV therapy.
"This means that substantial resources have been diverted away from development projects and developing programs into curative services to fight HIV.
And the administrative and management capacity has also been diverted away from development programs to managing the ARV program," said Mogae. He also said that the decrease in new infections did not necessarily translate into a decrease in the prevalence rate.
"With the coming and wide supply of ARVs many people who would have died from HIV/AIDS are alive. Therefore, the prevalence rate is not going down," said Mogae, adding that the people who were under ARV treatment and would live 10 to 15 years with the virus had also contributed to the high prevalence rate. (Xinhua)
source: Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone), October 20, 2006
"The figures used by the UN were based on sample surveys on expectant women, who were not adequately representative," Mogae said. "And the correct national prevalence rate is about 17.1 per cent."
"There are age cohorts where the prevalence is much higher, almost double the national rate ... and as you see at the bottom, in the 15 to 24 age cohort, the prevalence rate is about 10 percent," he said.
"That's how we have 17 per cent." Mogae acknowledged that Botswana was "seriously affected by HIV/ AIDS" and the country "has had to take special measures to fight the pandemic."
Botswana is reported to have one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world, yet there are positive trends - the free anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment has prolonged many lives, the HIV transmission from mother to child has significantly decreased, and the rate of new infections in the young is decreasing.
Mogae said the prevention of mother-to-child transmission was very important because it gave the country the hope of an AIDS-free generation.
He said that with the free routine testing of everybody, more and more women were receiving tests for HIV/AIDS, with about 85 to 90 per cent of the pregnant mothers agreeing to be tested, and the same percentage of those who tested positive agreeing to be put under ARV therapy.
"As a result of the increased compliance, the number of HIV-positive babies born to HIV-positive mothers has fallen from 40 per cent to a registered 6 per cent. That has been a dramatic improvement," said Mogae.
However, Mogae acknowledged that "on the whole, the problem remains very, very big." According to Mogae, roughly over 75,000 people in Botswana have registered as HIV positive, and over 68,000 of them are on ARV therapy.
"This means that substantial resources have been diverted away from development projects and developing programs into curative services to fight HIV.
And the administrative and management capacity has also been diverted away from development programs to managing the ARV program," said Mogae. He also said that the decrease in new infections did not necessarily translate into a decrease in the prevalence rate.
"With the coming and wide supply of ARVs many people who would have died from HIV/AIDS are alive. Therefore, the prevalence rate is not going down," said Mogae, adding that the people who were under ARV treatment and would live 10 to 15 years with the virus had also contributed to the high prevalence rate. (Xinhua)
source: Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone), October 20, 2006
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 8:15 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home