Botswana is characterised by a youthful demographic, with 60% of its population under the age of 35 and 18.7% between 15 and 24 years old, representing a significant potential for national progress. Despite substantial economic expansion since independence, the country faces considerable challenges, including a 27.6% unemployment rate and significant income disparity, evidenced by a Gini index of 53.3. These socio-economic issues directly impact the well-being and future opportunities of Botswana's youth, underscoring the need for inclusive policies and institutional reforms in education and employment.
The evaluation aims to ascertain the extent to which the National HIV and AIDS Programming Framework for Adolescents and Young People (2019-2023) met its objectives by the end of its term. Specifically, it will:
• Quantify the advancement made in reaching the framework's intended goals and objectives.
• Examine how effectively priority interventions targeting specific populations were implemented across different districts by various stakeholders, including the active participation of Adolescents and Young People (AYP) in the strategy's execution.
• Assess the resulting changes in behavior, improvements in health, increased understanding and awareness of HIV, and the uptake and coverage of relevant services.
• Determine the degree to which the framework contributed to reinforcing health, community, and social protection systems.
• Serve as an end-term evaluation to determine if the framework's outcomes were achieved.
• Generate evidence on whether the interventions and approaches contributed to averting new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths among AYP.
A crucial aspect of this evaluation is to develop forward-looking and actionable recommendations to enhance the overall HIV and AIDS response for AYP. Additionally, it seeks to document best practices and share lessons learned from successful interventions. The primary users of this evaluation will be the National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency, which will utilise the findings to inform future planning, decision-making, programming, and the implementation of interventions for the HIV/AIDS response among AYP.