06 Apr 2014

The youth have been encouraged to come forward for Safe Male Circumsion to fight the HIV/AIDS scourge.

Speaking during the Month of Youth Against AIDS (MYAA) in Palapye, the Hospital chief medical officer, Dr Sylvain Mbuyi said safe male circumcision would help reduce the rate at which men could get infected.

He also encouraged them to use condoms during sexual intercourse, adding that even if people use condoms, they should also go for an HIV test since a condom is not 100 per cent safe.

For her part, Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC) official, Ms Chawangwa Mukokomani said the Month of Youth Against AIDS initiative started in 1996 when BNYC, HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Unit under the Ministry of Health and that of Youth, Sport and  Culture realised the need to formulate a strategy to upscale HIV/AIDS interventions to groups which were not initially targeted in the fight against HIV/AIDS.    

From this initiative, she said, the government dedicated the month of March as MYAA, targeting the youth aged 12 to 35 years.

Ms Mukokomani said that an HIV/AIDS survey that was carried out in November 2013, showed that HIV prevalence rate was at peak, and in people aged between30 and 34 years 33.9 per cent was recorded and 43.7 per cent for people aged between 35 to 39 years.

She said prevalence rate for girls and boys aged between the ages of 15 and 19, was 6.4 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively.

The initiative is aimed at providing a behavioral change intervention and communication on HIV/AIDS in the health sector, she said.

The event also provides the youth with business empowerment opportunities through inviting stakeholders whose focus is on the youth empowerment.

The day was held under the theme; Zero New Infections, Zero Discrimination, Zero Related Deaths. ENDS