“Botswana has reduced the mother-to-child HIV transmission rate to 1.2 percent, an exceptionally low rate for a country with such a large HIV problem. In 2023, fewer than 100 Batswana were born with the disease,” notes The Doomslayer. Over a fifth of the people in Botswana used to have HIV, closest to the highest rate in the world. Now, only about 16% do, and at least three other countries have higher HIV and AIDS rates than Botswana does (Swaziland, Lesotho, and South Africa).
The World Health Organization adds:
Botswana has been validated as the first high HIV-burden country in the world, and the first in Africa, to reach the World Health Organization’s Gold Tier status for eliminating vertical transmission of HIV as a public health issue…
According to the 2024 UNAIDS Spectrum estimates, Botswana has approximately 360,000 people living with HIV, with 98% of pregnant women living with HIV receiving treatment. As a result, the rate of mother-to-child transmission has dropped to just 1.2%, well below the 5% benchmark, and fewer than 100 infants were born with HIV in 2023….
Over the years, Botswana has introduced pioneering interventions such as the early adoption of Option B+ (lifelong treatment for all pregnant and breastfeeding women with HIV), free antiretroviral therapy for all, including non-citizens since 2019, and decentralization of services through District Health Management Teams….
As a middle-income country, Botswana is facing reduced donor support. In response, the government has developed a HIV Sustainability Roadmap, focusing on increased domestic funding, public-private partnerships, and innovative financing mechanisms to protect the gains made.
Looking ahead, Botswana is working toward Triple Elimination, the integrated elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B. This includes expanded screening and treatment for hepatitis B and syphilis, integration into antenatal care, and increased engagement with affected communities.
Last year, scientists engineered a virus to steal proteins from the HIV virus, which could potentially eliminate AIDS.
Earlier this month, researchers moved closer to a cure for AIDS. “In a paper published in Nature Communications, the researchers have shown for the 1st time that mRNA can be delivered into the cells where HIV is hiding, by encasing it in a tiny, specially formulated fat bubble. The mRNA then instructs the cells to reveal the virus. The virus can no longer hide!,” exults Sanho Tree. That’s good news, because HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
The Guardian reports:
A cure for HIV could be a step closer after researchers found a new way to force the virus out of hiding inside human cells.
The virus’s ability to conceal itself inside certain white blood cells has been one of the main challenges for scientists looking for a cure. It means there is a reservoir of the HIV in the body, capable of reactivation, that neither the immune system nor drugs can tackle.
Now researchers from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, have demonstrated a way to make the virus visible, paving the way to fully clear it from the body.
It is based on mRNA technology, which came to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic when it was used in vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech…..
In other news, a study suggests that a once-yearly injection could prevent HIV. The maker of the injection hopes to submit the drug to the FDA for approval in 2027. Don’t expect that drug to be on the market in 2027. The FDA can take many years to approve medical devices and drugs. The FDA didn’t approve a home test for HIV until 24 years after it first received an application. According to an FDA advisory committee, the test held “the potential to prevent the transmission of more than 4,000 new HIV infections in its first year of use alone.” That means thousands of people likely got infected with AIDS as a result of the delay in approving it. At least a hundred thousand people died waiting years for the FDA to approve beta blockers.
Recent cuts to staffing at the FDA could result in it taking even longer for the FDA to approve new drugs. Some experts have argued that the FDA should only be able to remove unsafe or useless drugs and devices from the market, instead of the FDA having to approve drugs and devices before they can be sold. Requiring approval before they can be sold results in delays of many years before life-saving drugs become available.
