Editing Botswana (section)

===Health===
Botswana's healthcare system has been steadily improving and expanding.<ref name=":52">{{Cite web |title=Health and nutrition |url=https://www.unicef.org/botswana/health-and-nutrition |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=www.unicef.org |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331124951/https://www.unicef.org/botswana/health-and-nutrition |url-status=live }}</ref> Specifically, infant mortality and maternal mortality rates are steadily declining.<ref name=":32">{{Cite web |title=Africa :: Botswana — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/botswana/ |access-date=2020-04-27 |website=www.cia.gov |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208191649/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/botswana/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Eighty-five percent of the population live within a five-kilometre (3.1&nbsp;mi) radius of a health facility. Seventy-three percent of pregnant women access antenatal care services at least four times. Almost 100 percent of births in Botswana take place in hospitals.<ref name=":52" />[[File:Scottish Livingstone Hospital 228.jpg|thumb|[[Scottish Livingstone Hospital]] in [[Molepolole]]]]

The Ministry of Health<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministry of Health |url=http://www.moh.gov.bw/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024133244/http://www.moh.gov.bw/ |archive-date=24 October 2017 |access-date=10 September 2013}}</ref> in Botswana is responsible for overseeing the quality and distribution of [[healthcare]] throughout the country. [[Life expectancy]] at birth was 55 in 2009 according to the World Bank, having previously fallen from a peak of 64.1 in 1990 to a low of 49 in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Bank Botswana Data |url=http://data.worldbank.org/country/botswana |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709120507/http://data.worldbank.org//country//botswana |archive-date=9 July 2011 |access-date=20 July 2011}}</ref> Since Botswana's 2011 census, current life expectancy is estimated at 54.06 years.<ref name="cia" />

The [[Cancer Association of Botswana]] is a voluntary [[non-governmental organisation]] that is a member of the Union for International Cancer Control. The Association supplements existing services through provision of cancer prevention and health awareness programs, facilitating access to health services for cancer patients and offering support and counselling to those affected.<ref name="UICC Cancer Association of Botswana">{{cite web |title=Cancer Association of Botswana |url=http://www.uicc.org/membership/cancer-association-botswana |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528080003/http://www.uicc.org/membership/cancer-association-botswana |archive-date=28 May 2013 |access-date=29 March 2013 |publisher=Union for International Cancer Control}}</ref> Botswana's 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI) score is 20.7.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Hunger Index Scores by 2024 GHI Rank |url=https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=Global Hunger Index (GHI) – peer-reviewed annual publication designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels |language=en}}</ref>

====HIV/AIDS epidemic====
{{Main|HIV/AIDS in Botswana}}
[[File:Life expectancy in select African countries, 1950–2019.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Life expectancy in select Southern African countries, 1950–2019. [[HIV/AIDS]] has caused a decline in life expectancy.]]

Like elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, the [[economic impact of AIDS]] is considerable. Economic development spending was cut by 10% in 2002–2003 as a result of recurring budget deficits and rising expenditures on healthcare services. Botswana has been hit very hard by the [[AIDS pandemic]]; in 2006, it was estimated that life expectancy at birth had dropped from 65 to 35 years.<ref name="Kallings">{{Cite journal |last=Kallings |first=LO |year=2008 |title=The first postmodern pandemic: 25 years of HIV/AIDS |journal=J Intern Med |volume=263 |issue=3 |pages=218–243 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2796.2007.01910.x |pmid=18205765 |s2cid=205339589 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The life expectancy is 66.4 years as of 2024.<ref name=":7" />

In 2003, the government began a comprehensive programme involving free or cheap generic [[antiretroviral]] drugs as well as an information campaign designed to stop the spread of the virus; in 2013, over 40% of adults in Botswana had access to antiretroviral therapy.<ref name="Gap">{{cite web |year=2014 |title=The Gap Report |url=http://files.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2014/UNAIDS_Gap_report_en.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620173755/http://files.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2014/unaids_gap_report_en.pdf |archive-date=20 June 2016 |access-date=21 June 2016 |publisher=UN AIDS |location=Geneva}}</ref>{{rp |28}} In the 15–19 age group, prevalence was estimated at 6% for females and 3.5% for males in 2013,<ref name="Gap" />{{rp|33}} and for the 20–24 age group, 15% for females and 5% for males.<ref name="Gap" />{{rp |33}} Botswana is one of 21 priority countries identified by the UN AIDS group in 2011 in the Global Plan to eliminate new HIV infections among children and to keep their mothers alive.<ref name="Gap" />{{rp |37}} From 2009 to 2013, the country saw a decrease of over 50% in new HIV infections in children.<ref name="Gap" />{{rp |38}} Less than 10% of pregnant HIV-infected women were not receiving antiretroviral medications in 2013, with a large, corresponding decrease (over 50%) in the number of new HIV infections in children under five.<ref name="Gap" />{{rp |39, 40}} Among the UN Global Plan countries, people living with HIV in Botswana have the highest percentage receiving antiretroviral treatment: about 75% for adults (age 15+) and about 98% for children.<ref name="Gap" />{{rp |237}}

The country has been adversely affected by the [[HIV/AIDS in Botswana|HIV/AIDS epidemic]]. In 2002, Botswana became the first country to offer [[anti-retroviral drugs]] (ARVs) to help combat the epidemic.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rollnick |first=Roman |date=September 2002 |title=Botswana's high-stakes assault on AIDS |url=https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/september-2002/botswanas-high-stakes-assault-aids |url-status=live |journal=[[Africa Renewal]] |publisher=[[United Nations]] |volume=16 |issue=10 |pages=6–9 |pmid=12458550 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113083425/https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/september-2002/botswanas-high-stakes-assault-aids |archive-date=13 January 2023 |access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref> Despite the launch of programmes to make treatment available and to educate the populace about the epidemic,<ref>{{cite web |last=Powell |first=Alvin |date=16 April 2009 |title=Mogae shifts stress to HIV prevention |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/04/mogae-shifts-stress-to-hiv-prevention/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329064055/https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/04/mogae-shifts-stress-to-hiv-prevention/ |archive-date=29 March 2023 |access-date=29 March 2023 |work=[[Harvard Gazette]] |publisher=[[Harvard University]]}}</ref> the number of people with [[AIDS]] rose from 290,000 in 2005 to 320,000 in 2013.<ref name="Gap" />{{rp|A20}} However, in recent years, the country has made strides in combating HIV/AIDS, with efforts being made to provide proper treatment and lower the rate of mother-to-child transmission.<ref>{{cite web |year=2021 |title=Botswana is first country with severe HIV epidemic to reach key milestone in the elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission |url=https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2021/december/emtct_botswana |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220731120716/https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2021/december/emtct_botswana |archive-date=31 July 2022 |access-date=10 July 2022 |publisher=UN AIDS |location=Brazzaville}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=30 September 2022 |title=Partnership for Success: CDC and Botswana Lead Progress Toward HIV Epidemic Control |url=https://www.cdc.gov/globalhivtb/who-we-are/success-stories/success-story-pages/partnership-for-success.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329064059/https://www.cdc.gov/globalhivtb/who-we-are/success-stories/success-story-pages/partnership-for-success.html |archive-date=29 March 2023 |access-date=29 March 2023 |publisher=[[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]]}}</ref>

With a nationwide Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission programme, Botswana has reduced HIV transmission from infected mothers to their children from about 40% in 2003 to 4% in 2010. Under the leadership of [[Festus Mogae]], the government of Botswana solicited outside help in curing people with HIV/AIDS and received early support from the [[Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation]] and the Merck Foundation, which together formed the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership (ACHAP). Other early partners include the [[Botswana–Harvard AIDS Institute]] of the [[Harvard School of Public Health]] and the Botswana–UPenn Partnership of the [[University of Pennsylvania]]. According to the 2011 UNAIDS Report, universal access to treatment—defined as 80% coverage or greater—has been achieved in Botswana.<ref>{{Citation |title=World AIDS Day Report |year=2011 |url=http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2011/JC2216_WorldAIDSday_report_2011_en.pdf |access-date=21 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601011732/http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/unaidspublication/2011/JC2216_WorldAIDSday_report_2011_en.pdf |archive-date=1 June 2013 |url-status=live |publisher=UNAIDS}}</ref>