Research Proposal on HIV in Botswana

Question: Discuss about theResearch Proposal on HIV in Botswana. Answer: Introduction A human immune-deficiency virus is a form of a retrovirus. Retroviral is a type of RNA virus that attacks the DNA, treating it as an intermediary for its replication. The process is always referred to as retro. When one contracts an HIV, without treatment, it will develop into AIDS. The virus load rapidly develops itself in the DNA during the first 1-12 weeks on obtaining the virus. Afterward, they undergo a latency period of 6-10 years. The virus load will then rise during the stage that a person is said to have AIDS. Botswana as one of the countries in the sub-Saharan Africa is rated as the third with most prevalence in HIV infection. The state has made adequate efforts to try and reduce HIV infection rate. This paper will review an overview of the PMTCT on the current state of HIV in Botswana. Also, it will highlight some reasons to why there is a higher percentage of MTCT in the country. This paper will give way to integrating faith-based strategies in the administration of the P MTCT and Option B+ strategies in the fight against HIV Prevalence According to a report by the World Health Organization on statistics concerning regional HIV among women, ii was evident that Sub-Saharan women constitute 60% of all women across the world that are living with HIV. Specifically, in Botswana, it is noted that the prevalence rate has reduced since the year 2003 due to a different program that was put in place by the government and other institution. Furthermore, other reports suggest that the national prevalence of HIV infection through MTCT is the most common means of HIV transmission in countries such as Tanzania, Nigeria and Ghana (Boateng, Kwapong, Agyei-Baffour, 2013; Gourlay, et al., 2016; Iwelunmor, Ezeanolue, Collins, Michael, Chinenye, Gbenga, 2014). Botswana has recently been affected by the new strategies put in place to eradicate the epidemic nature of HIV/AIDS. Efforts by the Government to Fight HIV In the year 1999, the government of Botswana introduced the initiative to prevent the spread of HIV known as the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT). Later on, Gates Foundation in collaboration with Harvard AIDS scheme and other pharmaceuticals firms such as Merck kicked off a treatment program in August 2010. In this program, the use of anti-retroviral drugs was administered to those with the late stage phase of the disease. Furthermore, the government launched their first-ever national strategic plan to fight HIV/AIDS epidemic in the year 2004 through conducting routine checking for each citizen. In the year 2011, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Stanford University launched the Teach AIDS software that was designed to educate locals on the significant steps to undertake to minimize HIV infection. As seen above, these are the efforts that the country has actively taken to fight off HIV infection. Additionally, the collaboration of PMTCT and the Opt ion B+ strategies have yielded a commendable outcome regarding prevalence rates of HIV in the country. Literature Review First, with other African countries having implemented the uptake of the PMTCT service, it is evident that program has significantly impacted on reducing the epidemic nature of HIV. According to a cohort study in Tanzania, it was noted that the implementation of the PMTCT service in collaboration with the Option B+ have shown a greater improvement in initiating mothers and children who are HIV positive to follow the Anti-Retroviral Treatment fully even though the women within Tanzania have low-income levels (Gourlay, et al., 2016). Additionally, in a study conducted in Nigeria, it was found that some socio-cultural factors influenced the implementation of the PMTCT such as employment levels as well as the role of culture in the implementation of the PMTCT program. Another study in Ghana, suggests that the knowledge level of HIV-positive women on ART therapy and PMTCT primarily affected their adherence ART treatment. In Botswana, The PMCTCT was collaborated with the use of the Option B+ on the account to reduce the epidemic levels of HIV(Coutsoudis, Goga, Desmond, Barron, Black, Coovadia, 2013). The current situation in Botswana indicates that a child survival depends on the maternal health; therefore, the conditions of the mother will affect the survival of the infant. Maternal health conditions have a relationship in the transmission of the HIV from the mother to the infant because of the greater virulence of infecting strain. Additionally, poor transfer of passive immunity through breast feeding has increased the maternal-infant burden of HIV. There are different factors that have impacted the implementation Option B+ and the PMTCT programs. A study by Ndubuka, Ndubuka, Li, Marshall, and Ehiri (2013) suggests that HIV-infected women in Botswana need to be more knowledgeable and informed about infant breastfeeding attitudes and practices so that children can be protected from MTCT. Socio-economic factors have primarily affected by these two projects in the country. Researchers have suggested that the PMTCT program in collaboration with the Option B+, have created more positive outcomes in the fight against the HIV epidemic in Botswana since time immemorial. Evidently, the test uptake for PMTCT rose from 49%b in 2002 to 98% in 2014, the program uptake increased from 27% in 2002 to 95% in December 2014 as well an integration of the PMTCT into the SRH services and introduction of counselors to the program to help subjects understand the importance of such a program. Option B+ or the lifelong ART refers to as the use of drug therapy for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) in all HIV+ pregnant and breastfeeding women despite the consequences of the CD4 decrease in cell count for the rest of their life(Haire Jordens, 2015). Research suggests that using ART has been more effective in reducing transmission rates and its cost-efficient nature puts it as a simple program to implement within the country. Use of Option B+ has also met some challenges in Botswana because of the presence of a weak community-based therapy support, a reluctance of females to start ART, infant feeding issues, shortage of human capacity, and so on. Option B+ has impacted positively in other countries such as Malawi, in that it has reduced HIV transmission throughout the country(Kim, et al., 2015). Recommendations In merging the two programs, the implementers such as the government and other involved agencies are faced with some difficulties as they have to consider many factors such as the social structure, cultural structure, and economic factors. Further, most of the researchers have not evaluated the impact of faith on these two programs. If given an opportunity, my research will majorly focus on how faith-based beliefs affect the implementation of the option B+ and the PMTCT program. Furthermore, a focus on educating the public through translators and faith leaders is a key factor in boosting the outcome of the two programs and overcome barrier to full implementation such as political ties and male involvement and participation. Conclusion Botswana was once rated as the third country with the highest HIV prevalence rate around the world. But the government has been able to fight off the prevalence rates to minimal figures through the implementation of the PMTCT combined with the use of Option B+. The program can be said to be successful although the Vision 2016 has not yet been achieved. As the concerned parties strive to implement the program, challenges are present, either, socio-cultural or economic. In future, research must be undertaken to way out the influence of faith-based beliefs on prevention of HIV in the country. References Boateng, D., Kwapong, G. D., Agyei-Baffour, P. (2013). Knowledge, perception about antiretroviral therapy (ART) and prevention of mother-to-child-transmission (PMTCT) and adherence to ART among HIV positive women in the Ashanti Region, Ghana: a cross-sectional study. BMC women's health , 13 (2), 1. Chi, B. H., Stringer, J. S., Moodley, D. (2013). 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