Botswana Court Of Appeal Upholds High Court Ruling Stating Government Must Provide Free HIV Treatment To Foreign Prisoners

BBC News: Botswana prisons: Foreign inmates win case for free HIV treatment
“Botswana’s court of appeal has upheld a ruling that foreign prisoners should receive free treatment for HIV/AIDS, rights lawyers say. Foreign prisoners were previously expected to pay for their own medication, unlike local inmates…” (8/26).

International Business Times: African Court of Appeal rules in favor of HIV-positive foreign prisoners receiving free treatment
“…Two HIV-positive foreign prisoners had moved court against the practice and won the case in 2014. They were backed by the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA). The High Court maintained that the current policy was unlawful and that the foreign prisoners must start receiving treatment for free immediately. But the state government appealed against the judgement…” (Sarkar, 8/27).

VOA News: Botswana Issues Historic HIV Ruling
“…Activists say this represents a major victory in a country that has one of the world’s highest HIV rates. The United Nations AIDS agency estimates that as many as 25 percent of adults in the country are HIV-positive. Most of those patients are female…” (Powell, 8/26).

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