There has been a huge cost in investment in the education of this cohort who are dying before they become productive and before we, as a society, can reap the benefits of such an investment. The positive social indicators which have hitherto been the pride of Botswana, which were a result of reputable development planning and prudent resource management are now being reversed. For instance, it is estimated that life expectancy may reduce dramatically as a result of these deaths. The Government of Botswana has done all the best it could under the circumstances to fight the scourge and cushion its impact against the population. A Community Home Based Care Programme was started this year at an initial budget of P38 million to help families care for their terminally ill patients.
Plans are afoot to introduce a specific and fully fledged orphans care programme in the coming year.
In the meantime the destitution programme has been augmented by P7 million so that orphans can be taken care of under it. The total budget for these programmes stands at P61.5 million just in one financial year and this is likely to increase over the next few years. These were just examples of the many efforts that the Government of Botswana is taking to respond to the impact of AIDS and these illustrate the degree of commitment and levels of resources allocated. The private sector, non-governmental organisations, religious as well as citizen groups are doing a great deal to complement these efforts by Government. This is all the reason why we are gathered here tonight.