20 Jul 2016

Acting chief executive officer for Botswana Christian AIDS Intervention Programme (BOCAIP), Ms Bridget Mphusu, says discriminating HIV/AIDS patients gave them a chance to distribute the virus in silence.

Speaking during the BOT50 thanksgiving prayer and candle light memorial session in Lobatse recently, Ms Mphusu said infection began with people living with HIV/AIDS, adding that as such those patients should be respected and accepted into the community so that they could protect the community from further infection.

Ms Mphusu further said accepting people with HIV positive people enabled them to accept themselves and speak out freely about their HIV status, hence reduce the spread of the virus. She also encouraged the public to get tested for HIV, adding that it was more important to know one’s status as some people were living with the virus but did not know.

She said knowing one’s status was would enable one to fight battles they knew; either protecting themselves from further infection and infecting others, or protecting themselves from infection if they were not yet infected.

She advised the public to adhere to what they have been recommended by health officials after testing whether negative or positive, adding that further spread could be prevented in ways like staying faithful to partner and even abstaining. She also advised women to learn to be independent and avoid using their bodies for survival.

Woodhall’s Kgosi Pius Letsholo said the thanksgiving prayers were a chance for the nation to look back and appreciate what had been achieved, what failed and how to improve going forward. 

He implored Batswana to continue to pride theselves as a united nation and work together towards a common goal.

He said the HIV/AIDS pandemic as well as other life threatening diseases needed powerful prayers to put them to an end, adding that otherwise more lives will be lost.  ENDS