09 Mar 2015

Member of Parliament for Ghanzi North, Mr Noah Salakae has urged the youth to take responsibility for their actions.

Speaking at the commemoration of Month of Youth Against AIDS (MYAA) in Ghanzi on March 7, Mr Salakae said the youth, as a highly mobile group due to the nature of their jobs, were susceptible to HIV infections hence the need to practice safe sex. Mr Salakae challenged the youth to rise to the occasion and share their challenges in an honest and frank manner.

He said commemorations provided an opportunity to reflect on how far Batswana had come as a nation in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The expectations of these yearly gatherings were that the youth would educate themselves and inspire their actions in the workplace in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Mr Salakae expressed concern at the alarming increase of sexual activities in the workplace; saying it had led to efforts and strategies shifting towards the youth.

He said the workplace had become complex and an arena for sexual misbehaviours with young women mostly affected. These young women, he added, fell prey to their bosses for obvious reasons of lack of funds for upkeep in the fashion fancy youth dominated societies as well as quick promotions.

Besides pressure from the workplace, Mr Salakae also implored young people to overcome religious, cultural and political barriers that continued to make them prone to HIV infections.

He noted that in order to fight the pandemic, two main fronts of prevention and care were very important, adding that people need to be educated on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and change their social attitudes that make the youth susceptible to workplace sexual temptations.

MP Salakae also said there was need to improve treatment of those living with HIV/AIDS, noting that while government provides health care, leaders in this country should also provide leadership that would help change attitudes and behaviour.

He said winning the war requires shared commitments and collective leadership through sharing of painful realities. “We cannot change the past or undo its straining pain no matter how much we wished to, but what we can do and what we have to do is to seize this opportunity to chart a different future for ourselves and our loved ones,” stated Salakae.

The MYAA commemorations were held under the theme “Zero new infections. Zero discrimination. Zero related AIDS deaths.” ENDS