abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

16 May 2001

Author:
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, PBS

Fighting Back in Botswana: Nearly 36 percent of adults in Botswana are believed to have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Elizabeth Farnsworth reports on how Botswana's government is trying to tackle the crisis, in part three of a four-part series. "Diamonds from mines like this are crucial to Botswana's economy, and as more and more workers ended up sick, Debswana [joint venture De Beers & govt. of Botswana] decided to act. In early March, it announced that company doctors like Kobus Erasmus would begin to provide the full package of life-saving drugs called anti-retrovirals which have saved millions of lives in developed countries. The mining company would pay 90% of patients' costs."..."A high tech laboratory is under construction in Gabarone, which will have the capacity to analyze how patients on anti-retrovirals are doing. It's funded by the government and Harvard with help from Bristol Myers Squibb."