09 May 2016

The Tsabong Primary Hospital principal registered nurse has urged residents of Tsabong and surrounding areas to guard against contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases(STDs) particularly at month ends and public holidays.

Speaking in an interview during a wellness day organised by Zhong Gan Engineering and Construction company in Tsabong recently Mr Gakebatshephe Tumelo noted that transmissions were usually high during public holidays and month ends.

He said syphilis and gonorrhoea were the two most common diseases in the Kgalagadi South constituency. Mr Tumelo said they have noticed a trend of new STD cases every six weeks after month end or public holidays, pregnancies every 12 weeks after the same and new HIV/Aids infections and 18 weeks down the line which he described as a serious cause for concern.

He said most of the patients diagnosed were women while their male counterparts usually lagged behind. He thus challenged men to change their mind set and help efforts to combat the transmissions.

“The challenge we have now is that even if we treat these women who come forth they usually get reinfected one way or the other from their partners who stay behind,” he warned. He was however optimistic that with more public education the mind-set would eventually change adding that lack of information on prevention made most of the residents vulnerable.

Meanwhile the deputy district commissioner for the Kgalagadi District, Ms Peggy Kutlatse has commended the company for caring enough to organise a wellness day for its employees.

She observed that most of the companies doing business with government were only interested in the monetary benefits.

Ms Kutlatse explained that the company’s idea to undertake construction in a safe and secure manner complemented government efforts to create a healthy nation.

She however expressed concern about the alarming STD statistics in her area andurged the company to encourage its employees to heed the call to prevent new infections.

On behalf of the company, Dr Kobino Archar explained that the essence of the day was to encourage the employees to practice safety measures at all times. 

Dr Archar revealed that the company offered its employees training on fire prevention and management as well as first Aid anywhere they did business.

The company site agent Mr Steve Moss, for his part, encouraged Batswana to avoid too much sugar and salt in their diet. He said Botswana, like many Southern African States has high cases of sugar diabetes type 2. He nonetheless, explained that through gradual lifestyle changes which involved a healthy diet and physical exercise among others, the effects could be reversed. 

He shared that sugar was once called “white death” and explained that it was a key factor in most degenerative diseases. He said avoiding sugar and processed foods was a huge start in the longevity of health. ENDS