As the period of the First National Strategic Framework (NSF I) draws to a close, the national response to HIV and AIDS has made some significant achievements in areas such as the national Antiretroviral Therapy Programme, the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission Programme, and the care of our orphans and vulnerable children, to mention a few. However, in other areas the national response has not gained as much ground. For example, while beginning to move forward through the development of the National Operational Plan for Scaling Up HIV Prevention in Botswana, prevention efforts overall still lag behind. Similarly, the national response is hampered in a number of critical areas by capacity constraints. The health sector requires much greater attention to its capacity issues, while civil society and communities need to be strengthened and empowered to effectively play their role in the national response. In short, there are areas in our response to HIV and AIDS that need to be reviewed and refined so as to find ways in which they can be most effectively sustained over the long term, while others require more intensive focus and energy as well as greater resources in order to achieve greater success.

The Second National Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS, 2010–2016, attempts to address two important areas. On the one hand, prioritizing those critical areas in which we must make substantial gains, while on the other, ensuring that the national response builds on its past successes to provide a firm foundation for future achievement. This framework serves as the roadmap for the national response over the next seven years and makes an important contribution to the successful implementation of the 10th National Development Plan and, ultimately, Vision 2016. It is a rallying call for all partners in the national response to align their efforts and to collectively push forward to the achievement of agreed outcomes. From the broad objectives and strategies outlined in the document, it is expected that stakeholders will be guided to produce specific, targeted, and integrated plans where responsibility for performance is shared and accountability is confirmed. Streamlining our actions under this framework and toward a common purpose will make our national response more efficient and effective.