“(The) government is working on introducing the injectable anti-retroviral medication soon. Botswana has, through the professional guidance of the clinical guidelines committee, adopted the use of injectable antiretroviral medicines given every two months, for both prevention and treatment,” said Minister of Health Edwin Dikoloti. HIV activist Bonosi Bino Segadimo said the introduction of injectable medication will not only help with compliance but could reduce the stigma associated with the virus that causes AIDS. In 2019, the Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute conducted clinical trials to determine the efficacy of the injectable drug. The study proved the drug is safe and highly effective for HIV prevention. Kennedy Mupeli is a programs officer at Center of Youth for Hope, a non-governmental organization that targets young people living with HIV in Botswana. With the world’s fourth largest prevalence of HIV infections, Botswana becomes the second country in Africa, after South Africa, to adopt the use of the injectable ARV drug.
SOURCE: VOA