ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a critical overview of how Botswana society has responded to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic. It shows that Botswana has responded to the threat of HIV/AIDS in the same way it responded to the challenge of colonial underdevelopment. The main problems among men are their low risk perception and denial that AIDS continues to be a threat. A study of male knowledge, attitudes, and sexual behavior done in 1990/1991 found that knowledge and general awareness about AIDS risk activities was high. Most youths in Botswana begin sexual activity at an early age, around fourteen years. During 1992, a baseline research study done by the young women's christian association and world health organization on knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices of secondary school students in Gaborone demonstrated this fact. The overall female-to-male ratio among HIV-positive individuals and among AIDS cases is greater than one.
