3 October 2023
The government of Botswana led by Minister of Health, Edwin Dikoloti and the United States Ambassador to Botswana Howard Van Vranken launched ‘Community Clinic on Wheels’ on September 28, 2023.
The United States Government, through funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has procured 4 mobile clinics that will provide integrated health care service delivery during outreaches by non-governmental clinical agencies.
The results of the 2021 Botswana AIDS Impact Survey 5 (BAIS V) demonstrated that significant gaps remain in attaining the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals among adolescent girls aged 10-14, young women aged 15- 24, young men aged 15-24, and adult men aged 25-34. These gaps include inadequate knowledge of HIV status, suboptimal linkage to HIV treatment, as well as poor viral load suppression.
To increase access to lifesaving HIV testing and treatment services for those with lower access to health services and facilities, USAID through Tebelopele and FHI360, procured these mobile clinics to facilitate access to care and treatment services for hard-to-reach areas, key populations, and other priority groups most vulnerable to HIV infection.
Tebelopele and FHI360 provide clinical and community-based services aimed at addressing the remaining gaps in Botswana’s HIV/AIDS response, by ensuring that clients who need services have increased access points for HIV prevention, care, and treatment services.
The Community Clinics on Wheels will be used in Gaborone, Francistown, Ngamiland, and Kweneng East districts.
This event marks another milestone in Botswana’s phenomenal HIV/AIDS response and is exemplary of the longstanding partnership between the government of Botswana and the United States government.
Source: https://www.sundaystandard.info/clinics-on-wheels/
