Botswana is realizing an increase in the proportion of multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis (TB) thereby threatening Botswana’s gains it has made over the years, an official said Thursday.
Edwin Dikoloti, Botswana’s Minister of Health, said TB remains a priority public health problem and the most important opportunistic infection amongst people living with HIV, the virus that causes the endemic AIDS.
“Multi-drug resistant TB, which we have seen emerging over the years, is a threat to the gains we have made over the years,” said Dikoloti during the handover ceremony of TB Drug Donation of an undisclosed amount by India, in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana.
Dikoloti said the donation of Linezolid and Cycloserine, which are crucial for the treatment of multi-drug resistant TB, will contribute toward reducing government expenditure on treatment and ensuring availability of drugs “for our people who are in need.”
The mortality and morbidity associated with TB and in particular the drug-resistant from of TB is very high in Botswana, according to Dikoloti. Enditem
