NotBusiness7.qxd

This report presents a case study on the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on local councils in Botswana, specifically examining Gaborone city council, Lobatse town council, and Kgatleng district council. It details how the epidemic increases demand for public services while simultaneously eroding the capacity of councils to supply them through staff attrition and illness. The document highlights a gap between Botswana's comprehensive national policy framework and the lack of institutionalised, internal workplace responses within local government councils.

• Local councils in Botswana have failed to develop internal institutional responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic despite the existence of a national policy and implementation framework. None of the studied councils possessed an HIV/AIDS policy or clear guidelines for managing the virus in the workplace, with most focusing their efforts on the wider community rather than staff or institutional effectiveness.
• The HIV/AIDS epidemic has created a dual pressure on local councils by increasing the demand for services while hindering the capacity to provide them. Councils have had to implement additional government programmes, such as antiretroviral therapy (ART), voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), and community home-based care (CHBC), often without sufficient human or financial resources.
• Staff attrition is increasing due to illness and death, which significantly impacts operational capacity. Approximately 74.1% of less senior staff identified absenteeism, illness, and medical retirement as problems within their organisations. In Gaborone city council, high attrition is attributed to staff transferring from rural councils to access better medical facilities and the national antiretroviral therapy programme.
• Workplace prevention and support programmes in the councils are largely ad hoc and lack institutionalisation, making them dependent on the initiative of specific individuals. Common activities include the distribution of condoms (reported by 94.1% of respondents) and occasional workshops, but these are not integrated into a formal organisational culture.
• There is a significant lack of coordination and resource allocation for internal HIV/AIDS responses. Only Gaborone city council had established a formal HIV/AIDS coordinating structure. Funding is typically channeled through District Multi-Sectoral AIDS Committees (DMSACs), which primarily focus on community-oriented initiatives rather than internal workplace needs.
• Council employees exhibit high susceptibility to HIV/AIDS based on demographic profiles, as the workforce consists largely of young adults (ages 25 to 35) and women, which aligns with the highest prevalence rates recorded in Botswana's antenatal clinic surveillance data.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). NotBusiness7.qxd. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/NOTBUSINESSCHAP4.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. NotBusiness7.qxd. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/NOTBUSINESSCHAP4.PDF.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndnotbusiness7qxd, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{NotBusiness7.qxd}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/NOTBUSINESSCHAP4.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }