The United Nations Population Fund - UNFPA
 in Botswana

Reproductive Health
including Family Planning and Sexual Health

   Since Botswana is not plagued by high population growth rates, UNFPA’s country program focuses on the following areas:

  • Fostering better maternal and child health care

  • Ensuring women’s rights

  • Improving access to quality reproductive and sexual health, with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS prevention.

  • Helping to balance population and resources

  • Improving the quality of life for couples and individuals.

   UNFPA addresses these issues by strengthening the Government’s capacity to deliver quality reproductive health information and services to its population. The Ministry of Health has formed a Reproductive Health Division in order to better carry out the goals of the ICPD Programme of Action.

   A major new initiative, launched in 2000, was the African Youth Alliance (AYA) funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The founding members of the Alliance are: UNFPA, PATH and Pathfinder International. Botswana is one of four countries participating in this pan-African initiative. The others are: Tanzania, Ghana and Uganda. The main objective of the Alliance is to assist governments in their response to the growing menace of HIV/AIDS, especially among youth. This five year program will channel about $8 million into Botswana for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and related activities, including the launching of a nation-wide advocacy campaign aimed at youth.

Population and Development

   In 1997 the Government introduced a National Population Policy and supporting activities. This was followed by a Plan of Action carried out under the auspices of the National Council for Population and Development.

   UNFPA’s program concentrates on the following areas:

  1. Assistance with implementation of the National Population Policy at the district level.

  2. Strengthened institutional mechanisms for the coordinated implementation of the National Population Policy.

  3. Strengthened technical capacity for integrated gender sensitive population and development planning at the national and district level.

  4. Strengthened data, research, information and knowledge on the inter-relationships between population and development.

  5. Improved knowledge of population, gender, youth and development issues, especially among policy and decision-makers at the national level.

Advocacy

   As part of UNFPA’s on-going advocacy activities, Mpule Kwelagobe, former Miss Universe from Botswana, was appointed a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador. Mpule’s main focus is on promoting healthy sexual behavior, especially among the country’s youth and fighting the AIDS pandemic. She has set up a foundation with private funding to help fight the war on AIDS. Miss Kwelagobe has been instrumental in raising awareness of the disease through her activities in Botswana, the U.S. and Europe.


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