AEGiS: Botswana

Map of Botswana, Courtesy of WorldAtlas.com

Local time in Gaborone:

Facts and Figures

Official Name Republic of Botswana

Capital City Gaborone.

Languages English (official), Setswana.

Official Currency Pula (BWP).

Ethnic Groups Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7%.

Religions Indigenous beliefs 85%, Christian 15%.

Population 1,591,232.

Land Area 581,700 sq km (226,900 sq mi).

History

Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. The economy, one of the most robust on the continent, is dominated by diamond mining.

Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966. On the downside, the government must deal with high rates of unemployment, poverty, and HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains.

UNAIDS Epidemiological
Fact Sheets

[English]

[French]

Global Surveillance of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is a joint effort of WHO and UNAIDS. The UNAIDS/WHO Working Group on Global HIV/AIDS and STI Surveillance, initiated in November 1996, guides respective activities. The primary objective of the working group is to strengthen national, regional and global structures and networks for improved monitoring and surveillance of HIV/AIDS and STIs. For this purpose, the working group collaborates closely with national AIDS programmes and a number of national and international experts and institutions. The goal of this collaboration is to compile the best information available and to improve the quality of data needed for informed decision-making and planning at national, regional and global levels. The Epidemiological Fact Sheets are one of the products of this close and fruitful collaboration across the globe.

IRIN PlusNews Country Profile and Treatment Breakdown

At the end of 2004, PlusNews introduced a periodically updated Treatment Map to monitor the rollout of antiretroviral treatment in Africa, providing data for each country on the total number of people on treatment, the drug regimens used, and latest funding provided by the Global Fund, World Bank and PEPFAR.

Botswana Contacts

Country	Name	Title	Office Telephone	Fax
Botswana	Thomas Kenyon, MD	Medical Officer	267 301 696	267 373 117
	Ethleen Lloyd	Public Health Advisor	267 301 696	267 373 117

Web sites

U.S. Government:

World Fact Book: The Factbook was created as an annual summary and update to the encyclopedic NIS studies. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971. The 1975 Factbook was the first to be made available to the public with sales through the US Government Printing Office (GPO).
US Department of State - Travel Advisories: Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department decides, based on all relevant information, to recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Countries where avoidance of travel is recommended will have Travel Warnings as well as Consular Information Sheets.

Non-government Organizations:

Botswana Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS: Botswana Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS is a national umbrella (NGO) network formed by and for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs). It was established in 2000. The network exists to improve the well being and quality of life for all PLWHAs and to protect the nation of Botswana from HIV infection by promoting positive living, self reliance and reduction of infection rates through HIV/AIDS education, prevention and care.
UN Development Programme: Botswana: Botswana's UNDP HIV/AIDS Programme works in close partnership and collaboration with Government's AIDS/STD Unit. Featured on their website is a comprehensive overview of statistics that paint a picture of the HIV/AIDS pandemic's severity in Botswana and the nation's outlook for the future.
CDC Global AIDS Programme: Botswana: The first AIDS cases in Botswana were reported in 1985. Botswana now ranks as one of the four countries hardest-hit by the HIV pandemic. According to 1999 UNAIDS data, by 2005 AIDS is expected to account for a fourfold increase in the crude death rate in this country.

Botswana:

African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP): The African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP) is a collaboration between the Government of Botswana (GOB), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and The Merck Company Foundation/Merck & Co., Inc., to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS in Botswana. ACHAP, established in July 2000, supports the goals of the GOB to decrease HIV incidence and significantly increase the rate of diagnosis and the treatment of the disease, by rapidly advancing prevention programmes, healthcare access, patient management and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
UNAIDS in Botswana: HIV/AIDS has been called "Africa's Greatest Leadership Challenge." That it is . . . in part. It is a challenge alright . . . but not just to our leaders. It is a challenge to every one of us. The answer to HIV/AIDS is to be found among us, through our action as individuals, as family members and as responsible members of our various communities.

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Botswana

AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, iMetrikus, Inc., the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Map of Botswana courtesy of WorldAtlas.Com. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2002. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

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