The socio-economic and cultural context of the spread of HIV/AIDS in Botswana

Abstract

The first case of AIDS in Botswana was diagnosed in 1985. Despite the fact that AIDS is a relatively new phenomenon in Botswana, the rate at which it is spreading is alarming. The 1994 Sentinel Surveillance study estimated that the number of people infected with HIV rose from 60,000 in 1992 to over 125,000 by 1994. The 1995 Sentinel Surveillance Survey stated that approximately 13 per cent of the general population was infected by HIV. The projected cumulative figures of persons infected by HIV by the year 2000 will stand at 332,000 (AIDS/STD Unit, AIDS Update 1996). Obviously the rate of HIV/AIDS infection is increasing very fast. What are the socio-economic factors and practices that promote this fast increase?