Botswana has been
on a mission to prevent
tb/hiv
We work relentlessly to ensure that
all members of the community have
equal access to TB and HIV services.
Botswana has been on a mission to prevent and reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS as well as TB in all communities, feeding into the creation of an HIV free generation. While we stand in solidarity with this mission, the reality of this mandate is that no one should be left behind: all members of society must have access to these services regardless of their status.
With the work that we conduct at community level, we note that Women, Children, People with Disabilities (PWDs), Sex Workers , People Living With HIV, LGBTI+ persons, Miners, Migrant Workers and Prisoners are some of the groups that are left out of the general HIV and TB response.
We therefore strengthen access to these services by providing them within our Drop in Centres across the country and work towards ensuring that the targeted vulnerable groups are seen, heard and meaningfully included in the broader TB/HIV response.
‘In Botswana, as a consequence of the high HIV burden, TB was declared as a public health emergency in 2005. Although the incidence of TB is still among the highest in the world (300 per 100,000 in 2017), there has been a sustained decline in the number of TB cases since universal access to ART was introduced in 2001. However, mortality in patients with HIV-associated TB is almost double of HIV-negative TB patients. Therefore, there remains an urgent need to investigate the TB-HIV co-infection dynamics and determinants of these poor outcomes in a local and context-specific setting to inform care and policy. ‘ – Human immunodeficiency
virus-associated tuberculosis care in Botswana: evidence from a real-world setting, Ley Muyaya Muyaya and Others (2019)
Getting It Done
We work hand in hand with communities to increase access to services around TB/HIV from an all-encompassing human rights lens.
Our activities include
- Training of Service Providers on the effective provision of TB/HIV services, in line with international Human Right principles.
- Educating Women, Girls, LGBTIQ+, Miners, Migrants, Prisoners and other Marginalized Groups on TB/HIV as well as general adherence to treatment.
- Providing access to TB/HIV services at Drop in Centres countrywide.
- Advocacy through Community Engagement and Campaigns around TB/HIV.
- Providing access to Legal Services in the event of Human Rights violations.
Projects
| Project Name | Donors | Primary Target | Key Interventions |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1. TB in the Mining Sector in Southern Africa |
ACHAP, EANNASO |
Miners, Ex-Miners ,Miners and Ex-Miners Families , Communities In and Around Mines |
1. Awareness raising amongst primary target communities 2. Engagement of Stakeholders including Mining Unions 3. Advocacy for policy and law reform 4. Provision of Legal Services 5. Referral for occupational Health Services and assessment for compensation eligibility 6. TB Screening and Silicosis Testing 7. Community-led monitoring and documentation of rights violations |
|
2. Human Rights & Gender Barriers to access of TB, TB/HIV, Occupational Lung Diseases and Compensation Services in the Mining Sector and Mapping of Civil Society Actors in ten (10) Countries of the Southern Africa Region |
ACHAP/ AQUITY INNOVATIONS AND WORLD BANK |
Regional CSOs Actors , Miners, Ex-Miners etc. |
1.Assesment and Documentation of Results 2.Mapping of CSOs 3.Training of CSOs 4.Development of Report and Dissemination of findings |
|
3. Prevention Programmes for MSM and TG |
ACHAP |
MSM and TG |
1. Awareness raising and HIV Testing |
|
4. HIV and TB Project |
Global Fund |
Sex workers, LGBTQ+ individuals, MSM, Adolescents and young people (AYP), PWD, Prisoners, Truck Drivers, PWID/PWUD , Miners /Ex-Miners and people living with HIV |
1. Human Rights and Gender Programming 2. Legal and Policy Advocacy 3. Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) 4. Community Systems Strengthening (CSS) 5. Awareness and Education 6. Community-Led Service Delivery 7. Data-Driven Monitoring and Evaluation 8. Partnership and Coordination 9. Community Empowerment 10. Contribution to Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) 11.Increase capacity of communities to deliver integrated TB/HIV/RMNCH contributing to reduced TB morbidity and mortality 12.Achieve improved health outcomes by developing the role of key affected populations, communities, CBOs, networks, and structures in the design, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of services and activities related to the prevention, treatment and care of HIV, TB, and RMNCH. 13. Contribute to increasing access to services for key and vulnerable populations by removing human rights-related barriers to accessing TB/HIV and health services |
Our Results
We have made major strides in this area, having accomplished the following
- Reached 6796 people in Boteti, Ngamiland, Palapye, Francistown and Tutume districts with education around TB/HIV, for the purpose of dismantling stigma and discrimination;
- Educated people in districts on ascertaining and vindicating their rights in the face of human rights violations;
- Provided 4555 people in Boteti, Ngamiland, Palapye, Francistown and Tutume districts with TB/HIV services.
- Reached 340 policy makers and legislators on various health issues for policy and law reform.
- Provided integrated HIV/TB services to key and vulnerable populations through Drop in Centre’s in 5 priority districts.
- 30,704 individuals screened for TB, with 2,520 identified as presumptive cases.
- 87 confirmed TB cases enrolled on treatment
- 15,095 individuals sensitized on TB infection control through health talks in schools, farms, and door-to-door campaigns.
- Provided Sexuality, Teenage Pregnancy and ASRHR, Reducing Gender Inequalities, Harmful Gender Norms and Sexual and Gender Based Violence messages to 12 142 AGYW and 733 rights violation cases have been documented ranging from sexual gender based violence, Intimate Parter Violence, Access to national Identity Documents and mental health services amongst others
Resources
| Index | Content | Download |
|---|---|---|
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01 |
BOTSWANA COUNTRY REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BEIJING PLATFORM FOR ACTION (BEIJING PLUS 20 YEARS) |
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02 |
NATIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN TO REDUCE HUMAN RIGHTS – RELATED BARRIERS TO HIV AND TB SERVICES: BOTSWANA 2020 – 2025 |
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03 |
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN THE TB RESPONSES IN THE MINING SECTOR IN SOUTHERN AFRICA |
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04 |
TB IN THE MINING SECTOR IN SOUTHERN AFRICA (Advocacy Plan) |
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05 |
TB IN THE MINING SECTOR IN SOUTHERN AFRICA (Facilitators Guide) |
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06 |
TB IN THE MINING SECTOR IN SOUTHERN AFRICA (Physical Toolkit) |
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07 |
TB IN THE MINING SECTOR IN SOUTHERN AFRICA (Toolkit Manual) |