11 Apr 2016

Employees wellness programmes assist in attracting and retaining talent, keeping employees healthy and happy as well as decreasing staff turnover, Assistant Minister of Health, Dr Alfred Madigele has said.

Speaking at the Botash wellness day in Sowa Town, Dr Madigele said such a noble initiative was imperative as it motivated employees to go an extra mile in their service delivery. He pointed out that productivity was important in any workplace hence the need for employees to be healthy in order to deliver and meet expectations.

Dr Madigele said Sowa Town, with a population of 3 598 as per the 2011 national census, was challenged by various health problems such as HIV/AIDS, which according to the BIAS statistics of 2013 stood at 19.8 per cent.

He said the 2013 statistics, however, showed a decrease given the 25.4 per cent in 2008. He noted that wellness activities also gave the public an opportunity to learn on how best they could prevent, manage and even eliminate some of the health challenges affecting them.

He said the country has done well in the fight against HIV/AIDS, noting that in a recent report published by Lancet HIV, Botswana has been rated as the world’s best country in the treatment and containment of HIV.

“The report shows that Botswana has so far exceeded goals for addressing the HIV crisis well ahead of the year 2020 deadline set by the United Nations,” he revealed, emphasising the need for continued strategy in ensuring that there were no fall backs.

Furthermore, he cautioned Batswana to be cautious of lifestyle diseases which were mostly a result of how and what people eat as well as the rate at which they do physical activities. The managing director of Botash, Mr Montwedi Mphathi cautioned employees that they expected the best out of them.

 He said through wellness initiatives they encouraged them to take charge of their lifestyle and focus on their wellbeing. ENDS