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THE ROLE OF ‘BUILDING BRIDGE PROGRAM” IN COMBATING AIDS IN BOTSWANA

CLIENT: “Building Bridge Program” dedicated to HIV/AIDS funded by USAID

PROBLEM STATEMENT: How can Building Bridges best support communities in Botswana so that they can develop solutions in the socioeconomic problems being faced by women infected with HIV/AIDS?

MISSION, VISION, BACKGROUND:

The Building Bridge Program Project is a nongovernmental organization that operates in different countries of the world including Botswana. This program is identified as a department specifically dedicated to HIV/AID S. This program is directly funded by USAID. Through this program, Building Bridges has funded 11 NGOs dealing with HIV/AIDS. These NGOs are working to provide medical and nutrition support to persons infected with HIV/AIDS as well as train them to acquire the ability to support themselves through their economic emancipation. It seeks to support communities in Botswana so that they can develop solutions to the socio-economic problems being faced by the people of a community.

The idea behind this move is that communities’ best understand the challenges they face and if empowered, members are in a position to generate ideas that would ultimately solve the problems in the most responsive way. These challenges include HIV/AIDS, gender inequality, and economic disparity. The Building Bridge Program is working with the government of Botswana with an aim of improving the quality of life and self-efficiency of citizens living under vulnerable conditions. The youth and women have been identified to be exposed to multiple risks, and hence prioritizes support to these groups. People who live with HIV/AIDS in Botswana are placed at risk of social and economic marginalization arising from the stigma they face.

Botswana has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the nine Southern African countries where more than 10 percent of the population is infected with HIV. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS), an estimated 24.8 percent of adults aged 15-49 years were HIV-positive in 2009, causing Botswana to have the second highest HIV prevalence in the world after Swaziland. Unlike other western countries where HIV/AIDS appears to be a male-dominated disease, Botswana has a higher adult HIV prevalence among female population of 20.4 percent compared with 14.2 percent among male population. These figures illustrate that women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS in Botswana considering the female prevalence is one-third higher than the male prevalence. Based on the statistical data generated through Botswana HIV/AIDS Impact Survey II (BAIS II) in 2008, women HIV prevalence was highest in the 30-34 years age-cohort, followed by 35-39 years age-cohort. On the other hand, the highest HIV prevalence among the males was in the 40-44 years age-cohort, followed by 35-39 years age-cohort. Both males and females show lower prevalence at younger ages (19 years and below) and older ages (55 years and above). The proliferation of HIV has created some deep-rooted economic and social impacts in the Botswana society. The HIV/AIDS infection in Botswana has disproportionately affected the working-age population, or more specifically those who are in age-cohort of 15-49 years, because these individuals are relatively more sexually active within the overall population. Despite the government’s effort in establishing more job opportunities and promoting foreign investment in order to boost up the country’s recessive economy, Botswana’s gross domestic product (GDP) still has not been improved much over the past decade considering there has been a whopping decline in the labor force, and the working population is becoming much younger and less skillful than it used to be (Sackey et al. 2001). With a younger population getting infected with HIV/AIDS, the country lacks of skillful working force that is capable of producing decent quality goods and services.

In addition to economic recession, the epidemic has also increased the poverty rate in Botswana because households infected with HIV/AIDS are forced to spend more money on antiretroviral drugs (ARV) and other medications. In spite of the government’s achievement of extending access of ARV to entire population through the national treatment program more families are pushed into poverty due to the high costs of HIV/AIDS medical treatment, loss of employment, and funerals. There is no doubt that poor households will be disproportionately affected by the high costs of medication as well as the loss of breadwinners. Consequently, children who have lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS infections are forced to quit schools in order to support their families. Statistical data shows that of all 130,000 of children orphans aged 0-17 in Botswana, 93,000 of them were orphaned by HIV/AIDS in 2009 compared with only 56,000 orphans back in 2001 (Central Intelligence Agency). The data evidently indicate that the HIV epidemic not only has greatly influenced the lives of adult population, but also the lives of many children considering there has been an increase in the number of orphans over the past decade.  Studies have shown that girls aged 15-19 years are three times higher to be infected with HIV than boys (UNAIDS). The loss of financial support from families may lead teenage boys and girls to pursue risky sexual behaviors in order to receive monetary gain and material support from older sexual partners (UNAIDS).

POLITICAL STREAM:

STAKEHOLDERS:

REFERENCES

Sackey J. Raparla T. 2001. Botswana: Selected development Impact of HIV/AIDS. Washington, DC. World Bank: Macroeconomic and Technical Group, Africa Region.