01 Sep 2014

Stakeholders have been urged to double their efforts and come up with strategies that will work to improve the health delivery services in the district.

The assistant district commissioner, Mr Mogomotsi Madome said the district was faced with a lot of social ills, which hindered government efforts to address issues related to HIV/AIDS.

Speaking during Ngami HIV/AIDS Pitso, Mr Madome expressed concern about the number of teenage pregnancy cases in the district and other social ills such as ARV defaulters.

He said what the nation was facing was not just a government problem but it also called stakeholders and the community at large to act to join hands and come up with best solutions to address the situation.

He said stakeholders should strengthen their initiatives and respond positively to government plea in addressing social ills, HIV/AIDS and promoting behavior change amongst the youth.

Mr Madome said teenage pregnancy continued to be a problem in the district as some children opt to be mothers at an early age noting that shows that they were engaged in unprotected sex.

He also pointed out that ARV defaulters were also a serious concern citing an example about workers at Safari camps in the delta saying most are failing to adhere to the treatment instructions because of the nature of their jobs.

He said they cannot re-fill as stipulated by the health practitioners due to many reasons. “I urge you to come up with best solutions to overcome such social ills,” he added.

Mr Madome said although HIV/AIDS prevalence has been reported to have gone down in the district, that does not mean that the HIV virus cannot be spread.

He also noted that there was a need to strengthen parent to child communication in the area of sexual reproduction to create awareness about teenage pregnancy.

Meanwhile, Kgosi Oateng Setlhodi of Chanoga informed the gathering that their Village Multi-Sectoral AIDS Committee (VMSAC) is in the right direction as they had developed a comprehensive HIV/AIDS activity plan focusing on problems and the needs of the community.

He said since the committee covers six catchment areas, they were area specific noting that they have taken on board different groups such as traditional healers, pastors, youth, women and men to come up with their own strategies to fight HIV/AIDS scourge head on.

Kgsoi Setlhodi said the groups were advised to come up with strategies which are aligned to the existing policies to ensure they address burning issues effectively.

“Currently the committee is doing well in the reporting system as there is a lot of progress,” he said. He said they have appointed focal persons from the catchment areas to assist in distributions of condoms. He mentioned that the program of Safe Male Circumcision is also progressing well as men and parents are coming forth to participate in the exercise.

He said currently 23 men had undergone the operation of which 13 are sexually active. Kgosi Setlhodi called other stakeholders to collaborate so that they make a difference in the lives of the communities.

He also called for a proper training of VMSAC members so that they could be in a position to execute their duties diligently. A report from office of the District AIDS Coordinator has indicated that the district HIV/AIDS prevalence has dropped from 19.8 per cent to 15.2 per cent.

The report further indicated that more females than males test for HIV and AIDS and that there were no huge deaths rate recorded.

The gathering were also informed that there is low male involvement in health care services while women still respond well to programs in place. Ends