02 May 2013

Some Batswana are not benefitting from health programmes offered at health facilities because they do not have Omang cards.

The Coordinator of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT)/Anti-Retroviral treatment and Routine HIV testing for the Francistown District Health Management Team (DHMT), Mr Victor Letsholathebe said this during a meeting in Francistown recently.

Mr Letsholathebe said health authorities are now stricter than ever before on Batswana who do not have IDs because they can never be sure whether one is a Motswana or not, particularly because often some foreigners have been caught using Omang cards.

He said some steal them from their employers, or in some cases employers make ID’s for their employees, with claims that they are their relatives.               

The issue has become a stumbling block for many who, despite proof from their immediate families that truly they are citizens, still will not benefit unless an ID has been produced, he said. 

Mr Letsholathebe said failure to produce the ID has led to some losing out on the benefit of medical programmes available, amongst them critical programmes such as PMTCT and ARVs.

He also mentioned that the issue of IDs add to the failure by expectant mothers to register their pregnancies until it is very late when they are about to give birth.

Furthermore, he said although they will assist the patient to deliver, they will not offer other benefits even if there is a need, unless one has an ID.

Meanwhile the Francistown District AIDS Coordinator (DAC) Ms Godiraone Mathumo pointed out that care givers are not consenting to the provision of psychological support for their children.

Ms Mathumo said at the same time care givers tend not to reveal the children’s status during therapy with social workers, while they are also not forthcoming in sharing information about the children.              

Ms Mathumo said during their assessment of orphan care programmes in the district, they have realised that this compromises children’s medication.          

On other issues, she stated that for the last quarter of the 2012/2013 financial year, they have recorded about 4000 cases of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI’s), which she said was the worst highest record, particularly when considering that the country is striving for zero new infections.

She added that with such a high number of STI’s, the intended objective of zero new infections may not be achieved, thereby negatively affecting the attainment of Vision 2016 which calls for a healthy nation. ENDS