Gaborone, Botswana, February 12, 2002— The KITSO AIDS Training Program today launched its third training course at Boipuso Hall in support of the Botswana government’s national antiretroviral (ARV) therapy initiative. This will provide nurses and pharmacy technicians with the latest skills and information related to AIDS care and antiretroviral therapy in Botswana.

KITSO stands for "Knowledge, Innovation, and Training Shall Overcome AIDS." "Kitso" is also the Setswana word for "knowledge." The objective of KITSO is to ensure that health care providers have a high level of competence and confidence in the latest practices of HIV and AIDS care specific to their country.

The KITSO AIDS Training Program is a collaborative educational initiative of the Botswana Ministry of Health, HAI, and other partners. KITSO is supported by the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership (ACHAP), a five-year partnership between the Government of Botswana, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Merck and The Merck Company Foundation to help curb the AIDS epidemic in Botswana.

KITSO draws faculty from Botswana’s health care community, the Ministry of Health of Botswana, the National AIDS Coordinating Agency, HAI, Harvard University, Baylor University, and other organizations to prepare participants to provide the intensive AIDS care needed by many of their patients, while addressing cultural and infrastructure issues specific to Botswana.

The weeklong course which will be attended by over 60 participants from health care facilities implementing ARV therapy will be taught by distinguished faculty from both Botswana and the United States.

"Because we have received such a positive response to KITSO, we are pleased to be able to provide a third offering of the antiretroviral therapy training course," says Patricia Ncube, Ministry of Health in Botswana. "This course is critical to building the sustainable training infrastructure necessary to implement our plan to provide antiretroviral treatment to our citizens with HIV."

"The effective and safe incorporation of antiretroviral therapy into existing health care services is essential to meeting the goals of Botswana’s national AIDS plan," says Dr. Richard Marlink, executive director of HAI. "This training course, like other offerings of KITSO, meets the specific needs of Botswana’s health care providers and ensures that they have the skills and knowledge necessary to provide the best quality care to their country’s patients."