Challenges Facing Community Home Based Care Programmes in Botswana

Abstract

This study examines the role of Community Home-Based Care in Botswana
for people with HIV/AIDS and those with other terminal illnesses.
Kerkhoven and Jackson (1995) attribute the popularity of Community
Home-Based Care (CHBC) programmes in the developing countries to high
rates of HIV/AIDS. Botswana has adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 37
per cent and over 350,000 people living with HIV/AIDS. Rapid rise in
incidences of HIV/AIDS has hence resulted in increasing need for CHBC
and thus many CHBC services have been established through disorganized
and fragmented manners. This paper is an extended literature review. It
identifies and discusses challenges facing CHBC programmes in Botswana.
The findings indicate that poverty, high cost of community care, inadequate
medical facilities, poor infrastructures and socio-cultural issues have
threatened the sustainability of CHBC programmes in Botswana.
Recommendations and policy options are discussed.

East African Social Science Research Review Vol. 23 (2) 2007: pp. 1-18