BCPP_FT_V1.4 03Sept2019 1 Rapid Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation in the Botswana Combination Prevention 1 Project 2 3 Refeletswe Lebelonyane 1 , Pamela Bachanas 2 , Lisa Block 3 , Faith Ussery 2 , William Abrams 4 , 4 Michelle Roland 4 , Joe Theu 1 , Max Kapanda 1 , Stembile Matambo 1 , Shahin Lockman 5,6,7 , 5 Tendani Gaolathe 7,8 , Joseph Makhema 7 , Jan Moore 2 , Joseph N. Jarvis 7,9,10* 6 7 Author affiliations: 8 1. Botswana Ministry of Health and Wellness, Gaborone, Botswana 9 2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Global HIV/AIDS and TB, Atlanta, 10 GA, USA 11 3. Northrop Grumman, Atlanta, GA, USA 12 4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gaborone, Botswana 13 5. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA 14 6. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 15 7. Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, Gaborone, Botswana 16 8. University of Botswana School of Medicine, Gaborone, Botswana 17 9. Botswana-University of Pennsylvania Partnership, Gaborone, Botswana 18 10. Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London 19 School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK 20 21 22 Short title: Rapid ART 23 Keywords: HIV; ART; initiation; Botswana 24 Word count: 3500 words 25