25 May 2016

As the country is doing its best to fight HIV/AIDS, it is believed that unity and commitment are the essential elements needed by the community to help the government curb the spread of the virus and disease.

Speaking during the Jwaneng district AIDS candle light memorial service, District Health Management Team Head (DHMT) Ms Malebogo Ranko said that the government alone cannot bear the responsibility of curbing the spread of the virus but needed unity, commitment and determination from the citizens to achieve an AIDS-free country.

She said that the government had come up with different programmes in an effort to reach an HIV/AIDS-free country but for the programmes to bear fruits the community needed to be involved. 

She said that programmes like couple testing were not fully utilised saying that if utilised to satisfaction it would go a long way in the fight against HIV/AIDS. 

Ms Ranko moreover explained that statistics showed that in Jwaneng, more women were infected by the virus compared to men. She however said that the reason could be that women tend to take better care of their health compared to men as statistics showed that women test for the virus in larger numbers compared to their counter parts. She encouraged men to go for testing and avoid relying on the results of their partners.

On the milestones reached in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the DHMT head said that compared to when the spread of HIV/AIDS was at its peak in the early 80’s, communities were accepting those that were infected and not discriminating against them as before. 

She said that education on the spread of HIV/AIDS and its prevention measures had reached the mass at a larger scale to the extent that even primary school children were informed about AIDS. 

Ms Ranko the programmes like Prevention Of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS (PMCT) had yielded good results as children born to HIV infected mothers were born without the virus. 

She said that the success of the programmes was so huge that it attracted countries to benchmark . 

She said that the country had also received international recognition in its effort with the programme, something that she said needed a pat on the back for a job well done.

DHMT head applauded men for their effort in circumcision explaining that it also helped to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS and the development of cervical cancer in women. She cautioned men that circumcision did not replace a condom and therefore the use of the condom should continue even after circumcision.

For his part, Raphalane customary court president, Mr Nkaelang Lekgoa cautioned the public against cohabitation, gender based violence and alcohol and substance abuse saying that they also contributed to the spread of the virus. He said if these could be eliminated surely the country would reach its goal of a free HIV/AIDS country. 

He encouraged men to be at the fore front in the fight against HIV adding that having women to fight the virus by frequent testing, taking their medication well and living healthy did not show that men were taking their responsibility of being heads of the family. 

He said that they also needed to sit their children down and educate them instead of leaving everything to women. ENDS