Africa-Press – Botswana. Youth need to inform themselves about important issues affecting their well-being. Speaking during the commemoration of Month of Youth against AIDS (MAYA) in Gaborone recently, Assistant Minister of Health Mr Setlhomo Lelatisitswe said young people needed to know where to get the support they needed, adding that youth-friendly HIV services were of no use if not used by those for whom they are made available.
Mr Lelatisitswe said the main objectives of this year’s commemoration was to intensify efforts on HIV testing and counselling, promoting access to sexual reproductive health/HIV youth-friendly services to ultimately reduce any further HIV infections.
Government, local civil society organisations, and international development partners had made efforts to put in place youth-friendly interventions supporting HIV prevention and care amongst young people, he said.
He said this year’s emphasis was on increasing availability, quality and sustainability of services for HIV prevention, testing and treatment hence the theme: ‘Equalize: End Inequalities, End AIDS by 2023.’ In an effort to end inequalities and ending AIDS, Botswana had adopted various strategies since 2016, some specifically targeting young people in efforts to align with the Ministry of Health vision of a Healthy Nation.
One such strategy was ‘the treat-all strategy’ that allowed for all People Living with HIV to receive Anti-retroviral therapy immediately after an HIV positive diagnosis, regardless of their CD4 count.
Mr Lelatisitwe further urged young people to adopt and utilise the strategies in order to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
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