Our visit to the MASA-ARV clinic provided us the opportunity to meet physicians who have been treating patients with ARVs. MASA means “new dawn” in Setswana, the native language of the people of Botswana. The clinic is housed in modular units on the grounds of Princess Marina Hospital. If members of the delegation had any doubts about ARV treatment capacity in Botswana, they were put to rest after visiting the clinic. Through the MASA program, more than 5,000 people are receiving ARVs. After a tour of the facility and a discussion with Dr.Clement Mubanga Chela, Multisectoral Programmes manager, our delegation was clear—they are doing it. They can continue to provide treatment and they can scale up. Dr. Chela told us about the practice of HIV related medicine, stressing the multi-disciplinary nature of it, how adherence to the treatment protocols was faring, and the issue of exceptionalism (as opposed to stigma) and called them critical issues requiring attention. He believes if individuals living with HIV were treated like everyone else, there would be more people coming in for testing and health services. After attending the clinic, Dr. Chela reported, most HIV positive patients wanted to be treated like all other patients, and not receive services in a special clinic, in a special location, marked by a special color.

Next on the tour was the Harvard HIV Reference Laboratory, a new magnificent state-of-the-art research facility with the latest laboratory and clinical research equipment where we received a briefing by the members of ACHAPS, African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships. ACHAPS was formed in 2000 as a public/private partnership comprised of the Government of Botswana, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Merck Foundation. Under the direction of Dr. Donald de Korte, the mission of ACHAPS is to prevent HIV transmission and treat AIDS in Botswana. The primary activity of ACHAPS is to develop and finance effective, sustainable, locally driven, and accountable HIV/AIDS programs through grant-making. ACHAPS’s support manager, Brad Ryder, served as our escort. ACHAPS programs range from clinic-based HIV/AIDS ARV therapy, home-based and palliative care to delivery of ARVs to more than 5,000 patients (with a goal of treating 19,000 in one year) as well as teacher training and grants administration for small community-based organizations. According to UNAIDS, through ACHAPS, Botswana is leading the African continent in the response to HIV/AIDS. To date, no other African country has built this type of collaborative partnership to address HIV. The Merck and Gates Foundations have donated $50 million each to the effort. Merck is also donating ARVs for the government’s national treatment program.