December 2006

FRANCISTOWN -- U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Mark Dybul says Botswana is one of the leading African countries in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs and he praised the country for its sound use of donor funding.

Dybul visited the country to witness the roll-out of a new national program that brings hope for HIV-exposed infants, and to evaluate other programs being funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Botswana is one of the 15 PEPFAR focus countries and received $54.9 million in funding in the 2006 financial year for prevention, care and treatment programs.

Dybul, who leads the implementation of PEPFAR, told reporters that Batswana should be proud of the progress that their country has made fighting HIV/AIDS.

"Botswana has made tremendous efforts," he told the Daily News during his visit in October 2006.

During his trip to Francistown, Dybul, along with a delegation that included Botswana Minister of Health Professor Sheila Tlou and Dr. Kent Hill, the Assistant Administrator for Global Health at United States Agency for International Development, visited the Institute of Health Sciences where health care workers were being trained in Early Infant Diagnosis.
Diagnosis of HIV in babies can now be done as early as six weeks after birth with the collection of dried blood samples, giving HIV-positive babies the chance for early initiation of ARV therapy and other care.

The delegation also visited Lapolagang Clinic where they watched a mother in the PMTCT program have her baby tested for HIV with the nurse taking blood spots from the baby's toe.

"Botswana's PMTCT program is way ahead of other countries," Dybul told reporters. "This is the first country I know of in Africa that is rolling out early infant testing to all of its public health facilities."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has contributed greatly to the rollout of Early Infant Diagnosis through technical assistance and training.

In Francistown, the group attended a classroom discussion at Mater Spei College on the new Life Skills Curriculum Materials. Mater Spei was one of the pilot schools for the materials developed to support HIV/AIDS education in schools.

After Mater Spei the group visited other PEPFAR-supported programs, including St. Bridget's Preschool in Tonota, the Area W Clinic in Francistown which was the first clinic in Botswana to complete security upgrades for storing ARVs, and Jubilee Laboratory to see renovations to increase laboratory space and security.

The next day in Gaborone, Dybul met with Botswana President Festus Mogae and Chris Molomo, the coordinator of the National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA). He also visited Itumeleng Primary School to watch a children's soccer program run by the Youth Health Organization (YOHO), an HIV/AIDS call-in centre run by Medical Rescue International (MRI) and a behavior change drama performed by Population Services International (PSI) peer educators at Old Naledi Mall.

PEPFAR is a five-year, $15 billion global initiative by the U.S. government to combat HIV/AIDS in over 120 countries around the world.