Botswana has the third highest HIV prevalence in the world. In Botswana it is estimated that 390,000 of the 2.1 million population are infected with HIV. The HIV prevalence has increased to 18.5% (BAIS IV: 2013) from 17.6% (BAIS III: 2008).  There are multiple key drivers of HIV in Botswana, which needs to be addressed in order to reach the epidemic control. To that end, Botswana has embarked on the goal of 90: 90: 90 by year 2020 and 95: 95: 95 by the 2030. That is: 90% of all people living with HIV will know their status; 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained ART; 90% of all people receiving ART will have viral suppression (undetectable viral load). HIV treatment has been found to intensely improve the health and prolong the life of the people living with HIV and AIDS. With the development of better-tolerated HIV treatments, research is showing that starting treatment early, before the virus has a chance to cause damage to the immune system, is important for achieving the best health outcomes.

Botswana’s legal environment - that is, its laws and policies and how they are implemented and enforced – plays a critical role in the national response to HIV. Botswana has a number of laws and policies that protect the rights of all people from discrimination and promote access to health care and other services. Most recently, in 2013 a number of laws and policies were developed to improve the rights of the general population to obtain health care without discrimination. However, gaps and challenges have been identified within Botswana’s current legal and policy framework where discriminatory and punitive laws, policies and practices create barriers to access to prevention, treatment, care and support for all people, including vulnerable and key populations. Furthermore, the Global Commission on HIV and the Law’s report, Risks, Rights & Health 2012 found evidence of how protective legal environments improve the lives of people living with HIV and reduce vulnerability to infection. Across the globe, it also found evidence of how stigma, discrimination, punitive laws, brutal policing and ineffective access to justice continue to fuel the HIV epidemic. It is in this spirit that the Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNDP as the Principal recipient of Global Fund Global intent to undertake a Legal Environmental Assessment of the Botswana laws with regards to HIV, health, human rights and the law.

The proposed Legal Environment Assessment aims to review and map the current legal, regulatory and policy framework in Botswana and analyse the extent to which it supports or hinders national and local response to end new HIV infections and AIDS. The broader aim of the Legal Environment Assessment is to identify recommendations for developing a strengthened legal and regulatory framework for effective responses to HIV and AIDS. A consultant with background in legal, human rights and/or HIV and public health expertise is required to undertake this assignment.