Botswana and the United States will take their partnership to fight HIV/AIDS and strengthen Botswana’s health care system to a higher level on Tuesday December14 when U.S. Ambassador to Botswana Stephen J. Nolan and the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration Lesego Motsumi sign the “Five-Year Partnership Framework in Support of the Botswana National Response to HIV/AIDS 2010-2014.” The signing ceremony will take place December 14 at 9:00am at Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration’s Office, at the Office of the President complex.
The Botswana Partnership Framework reflects the priorities and approaches favored by the Botswana government, and outlines the future of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS (PEPFAR) in Botswana with the goal of preventing new HIV infections, providing care and treatment for those affected by the epidemic, especially women, children and the most vulnerable, and strengthening the capacity of Botswana’s health care systems to provide sustainable, quality health care services for the future.
The Framework articulates the expected contributions to a durable and effective response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Botswana over a five-year period from both the Government of the Republic of Botswana (GOB) and the United States Government (USG). The Framework is consistent with Botswana’s Second National Strategic Framework on HIV/AIDS.┬á It is intended to further align the work of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) with Botswana’s national priorities. The Partnership Framework also strives to ensure that USG contributions to the national HIV/AIDS response complement and leverage those of other stakeholders.
Signing of the Botswana Partnership Framework represents the culmination of a dialogue between the USG and the GOB that began following the reauthorization of PEPFAR under the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-293). This Framework symbolizes the efforts of both Governments to strengthen their relationship and increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of their joint efforts on HIV/AIDS.
PEPFAR is the cornerstone of President Obama’s Global Health Initiative, which commits $63 billon dollars over six years to support partner countries in improving and expanding access to health services, with a focus on the health and well-being of women, newborns and children. In this second phase of PEPFAR, a new program strategy is underway that supports the Administration’s overall emphasis on improving health outcomes, increasing program sustainability and integration, and strengthening health systems. PEPFAR has five key goals: to transition from an emergency response to promotion of sustainable country programs; to strengthen partner government capacity to lead the response to this epidemic and other health demands; to expand prevention, care, and treatment in both concentrated and generalized epidemics; to integrate and coordinate HIV/AIDS programs with broader global health and development programs to maximize impact on health systems; and to invest in innovation and operations research to evaluate impact, improve service delivery and maximize outcomes.
The Partnership Framework was jointly developed by a team of public health and development officials from the U.S. Mission to Botswana and a Botswana team led by the National AIDS Coordinating Agency. The Botswana team included representatives of the National AIDS Coordinating Agency and the Ministry of Health, along with representatives from other government agencies, civil society and other donors and stakeholders. The five USG agencies implementing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in Botswana include the Department of State; the Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Peace Corps; the United States Agency for International Development and the Department of Defense.
