Africa-Press – Botswana. BONELA has challenged the assertion of the Ministry of Health that HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death in Botswana and instead blames the “deplorable” state of the nation’s public health sector for rising deaths.
The Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA), holds a view that is contradictory to the government’s stance that HIV is the leading cause of death in Botswana.
The human rights organisation with a special focus on HIVAIDS has shifted the blame for the rise in deaths among people living with HIV (PLHIV) to the deplorable state of the nation’s public health sector.
HIV-related illnesses were found to be the leading cause of death in Botswana???, according to recent findings of Statistics Botswana.
The ageing population
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has indicated that the recent statistics should not cause panic among the population, given that most of the people who die from HIV-related illnesses are part of the ageing population.
However, the Executive Director of BONELA, Cindy Kelemi, holds that there is no integrated approach in supporting individuals on HIV treatment to access healthcare in the public sector.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that there is no routine disease testing in public hospitals, which can lead to delayed diagnosis of opportunistic infections and diseases among people living with HIV (PLHIV).
Non-communicable diseases
She indicated that many people on HIV treatment die from other ailments that are not detected and treated early at public hospitals.
Kelemi stated that currently there is no routine testing of diseases in public hospitals, despite the global rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“With the collapsing health system, many people, including those on treatment, are unable to receive the help they need on time,” she said.
“They stay for a long time without treatment for other ailments because there is no routine testing and no integrated approach to support those enrolled on HIV care.”
Not responsive
Kelemi rejected the assertion that people die from HIV due to old age. “People are not dying because of HIV,” she said. “They die because they have other illnesses like cancer that are not detected and treated early in public hospitals.”
Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman of BONELA, Kennedy Mupeli, has expressed similar views, saying Botswana’s public health sector is not responsive to the needs of people living with HIV.
He told in an interview that PLHIVs are more vulnerable to opportunistic infections and diseases due to compromised immune systems.
Opportunistic infections
Mupeli, who is also a treatment and prevention activist, expressed concern that late diagnosis of opportunistic infections and diseases among PLHIVs is contributing to increased mortality.
“Some of these opportunistic infections and diseases are diagnosed late among people living with HIV,” he said. “They take time to receive medical attention. The longer they go without treatment, the more likely they are to die.”
Mupeli asserted that PLHIVs who are referred to specialist doctors are made to queue up for long periods to be seen despite their need for urgent medical care due to their compromised immune systems.
Compromised immune systems
He emphasised the need for timely and responsive interventions for PLHIVs instead of being made to wait for months while trying to access medical care.
“They should not be made to queue with patients without HIV,” said Mupeli. “These are people with compromised immune systems, and sometimes their age is not on their side, which can make their health conditions more severe.”
He said the government should engage the services of health economists to guide the Ministry of Health in systematically reviewing the country’s healthcare delivery system in order to improve efficiency and responsiveness.
4,200 new HIV infections each year
Nevertheless, the official spokesman of MOH, Dr Christopher Nyanga, has said HIV-related illnesses are the leading cause of death in Botswana, adding that most of the people who die due to HIV-related complications are from the ageing population.
However, he said there is no need for panic because most of those who succumb to death are elderly people who have been on treatment for many years.
Dr Nyanga noted that new HIV infections among the youth remain a concern, saying over 4,200 new HIV infections are recorded each year.
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