Botswana: Few women accessing PMTCT services

Few pregnant mothers in Botswana are accessing free HIV/AIDS related services, including free antiretrovirals being provided by the state, says a recent study. The survey of 504 women at ante-natal clinics and in post-natal wards countrywide, revealed that although 95 percent were accessing the health care provided at these facilities, the utilisation of free Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services and voluntary testing was still low - though it had increased from 38 percent in 2002 to 58 percent in 2003.