Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
waketse near Kanye. A later split in the Bangwato resulted in a fourth group, the Bat-
awana, who are concentrated near Maun in the northwest.
Known for being proud, conservative, resourceful and respectful, the Batswana have an
ingrained feeling of national identity and an impressive belief in their country. Their his-
tory - a series of clever manoeuvres that meant they avoided the worst aspects of colon-
isation - has nurtured a confidence that is rare in postcolonial Africa.
The importance of the family in Batswana society has made the crisis caused by the
HIV/AIDS pandemic particularly damaging. At last count, the country had more than
93,000 AIDS orphans, a staggering 4.5% of the population. How the country reacts to this
breakdown of traditional family networks is one of the greatest challenges facing its
people.
HIV/AIDS: A NATIONAL CATASTROPHE
While sub-Saharan Africa is home to roughly 11% of the world's population, it currently accounts for almost 67%
of all estimated global HIV cases. Twenty-four of the world's most affected countries are in Africa, and Bot-
swana's HIV prevalence places it second among them. According to UNAIDS and the World Health Organiza-
tion, 24.8% of all adult Batswana are HIV positive, and women represent over half of those cases.
Botswana symbolises the tremendous challenge that HIV/AIDS poses to African development in the 21st cen-
tury. It is blessed with sizeable diamond reserves that have fuelled rapid economic growth since independence and
have raised incomes for thousands of its citizens to world-class standards. Yet almost 6000 people die of HIV/
AIDS here every year and life expectancy (56.93 years for men, 54.51 years for women) is far lower than it
should be in a country with Botswana's impressive economic profile; it's estimated that without the scourge of
AIDS, life expectancy in Botswana would now be on a par with the USA. In 2001 former president Festus Mogae
lamented that, unless the epidemic was reversed, his country faced 'blank extinction'. Some economic experts
also fear that AIDS will make Botswana poorer by the day, as the virus tends to hit people in their most product-
ive years.
In the midst of all the gloom, Botswana has taken some of the most admirable steps of any sub-Sahara African
nation in reversing the damaging trends wrought by AIDS. In 2001 Botswana became the first African country to
trial antiretroviral (ARV) drug therapy on a national scale, for which it earned international praise. And it is one of
just a handful of countries worldwide that have committed to providing ARV treatment free to all of its HIV-posit-
ive citizens. In addition, it has committed itself to reversing the epidemic by 2016.
These policies are already bearing some fruit. Life expectancy has reached current levels from an appalling low
of 35 years in 2005. In 2012 transmission of the disease from mother to child was down from between 20% and
40% to around 2%. Across Gaborone, you see billboards asking passers-by: 'Who is in YOUR sexual network?'
But issues remain. Anecdotally, workers in medical nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) in Gaborone told us
the prevalence of antiretrovirals has made some people less likely to practise safe sex.
To keep up with the effects of HIV/AIDS on sub-Saharan countries, log on to
www.unaids.org
,
www.avert.org
and
www.who.int
.
