Africa-Press – Botswana. It must have been a sad day for former president Festus Mogae when the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) missed the September 30 deadline to allow another five-year funding cycle for the initiative. Mogae was a man who made HIV/AIDS response a top priority of his administration and snatched Botswana from jaws of “extinction”.
In a recent opinion piece in The Hill, which he co-authored with Tommy Thompson, the secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005, the former president expressed concern that Botswana’s battle against the epidemic of HIV/AIDS may suffer long-term consequences as PEPFAR becomes enmeshed in the politics surrounding abortion, with a number of conservative groups pushing against the initiative’s reauthorisation.
“PEPFAR’s support was absolutely critical to helping the people of Botswana in their fight against HIV/AIDS,” says Mogae, adding that the programme saved Botswana at a time when the country was on the verge of going extinct. The Hill is an American newspaper and digital media organisation with headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Mogae indicated that Botswana’s cooperation with PEPFAR, along with visionary leadership, played a critical role in saving lives. “As a result of these collective efforts, Botswana became the first African country to achieve the “95-95-95” targets set by UNAIDS and is well on its way to achieving epidemic control,” says Mogae.
While the PEPFAR initiative was not approved for a five-year term, the US State Department stated that this will not affect PEPFAR’s operations for fiscal year 2024. The State Department further states that the initiative has enough funding available to cover the majority of PEPFAR-supported operations. Current reports suggest that the PEPFAR fund has about US$7 billion, all of which will go toward funding governments and civil society organisations.
Mogae also urged the U.S. Congress reauthorise PEPFAR for another five-years to reach the shared goal of an HIV-free world. “The U.S. Congress and the American people have shown exemplary leadership in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. There is still more work to do — and an expeditious, bipartisan, five-year reauthorization of PEPFAR will help us to reach our shared goal of an HIV-free world,” he says.
Until now, PEPFAR has previously received funding in five-year cycles. US Ambassador to Botswana, Howard Andree Van Vranken, indicated that in the upcoming year, through PEPFAR, United States government will invest about US$58million to support HIV prevention, care and treatment here in Botswana
Over 11 million people, the majority of whom reside in sub-Saharan Africa, are supported by PEPFAR. The initiative has saved countless lives in Botswana and millions more in developing countries since its inception in 2003. The initiative is the world’s biggest global health campaign focused on only one disease. Mogae’s participation in the PEPFAR debate reflects growing concern in Botswana about the country’s HIV and health landscapes in the coming years.
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