Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - August 11, 2000
The country's health minister, Joy Phumaphi, told U.N. officials that the government would introduce the new law as part of its efforts to change the country's sexual behavior, the British Broadcasting Corp. said.
Critics of the proposed legislation, however, fear that the new law may be unworkable and may drive AIDS underground.
Phumaphi also announced a weekly AIDS counseling program for Botswana's 1.5 million people in September, the BBC said.
The BBC quoted the U.N. program on AIDS as saying that more than one in three people in Botswana were infected with the HIV virus or have AIDS.
BBC News Online quoted a UNAIDS official as saying that counseling was likely to be more effective than introducing legislation to tackle the problem.
Phumaphi, the minister, however, said the law was not "going to interfere with people's rights."
"We only want legislation to compel an HIV positive person to disclose his status to his sex partner," the BBC quoted him as saying. "Having sex with a person without informing them will be criminal offence."
The door-to-door counseling program is expected to cost $4.5m during the first three years; counselors will be trained for every town and village in the country, according to the BBC.
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