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The private sector responds to the epidemic: Debswana—a global benchmark. UNAIDS case study.
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2002
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Development EconomicsEconomic DevelopmentPublic-private PartnershipSocial SciencesPovertyGlobal HealthcarePublic HealthMany Respects BotswanaAfrican DevelopmentPublic PolicyGlobal Health CrisisAfrican OrganizationHivWorst Hiv/aids EpidemicGlobalizationEpidemiologyUnaids Case StudyTreatment And PreventionGlobal HealthInternational HealthPrivate SectorLow Income Developing CountryDebswana—a Global BenchmarkGlobal Health EpidemiologyIndependence Botswana
In many respects Botswana is Africa’s success story. It is a peaceful democratic and prosperous country with a standard of living and quality of life that have improved steadily in recent decades largely as a result of good governance and sound public finance. At independence Botswana was one of the world’s poorest countries but over the past 30 years its economic growth rate has been one of the highest worldwide. This rapid growth was initially driven by minerals (with the diamond mines remaining central to the economy) but there has also been diversification of economic activity. By 2000 most children were receiving primary- and secondary-level education and literacy rates were above 70%. Nearly 90% of the population were within reach of State health facilities and 98% of one-year-olds were fully immunized against BCG. The approximately 1.6 million citizens enjoyed a per capita income of US$3240. Despite these achievements Botswana has the worst HIV/AIDS epidemic in the world. According to the Report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic June 2000 the adult HIV prevalence rate was 35.8%—over 10% higher than the next-highest country Swaziland which has a HIV rate of 25.25%. The latest government sentinel surveillance does not show any improvement in the situation. (excerpt)