15 Aug 2016

The American government, through USAID Assist Project-Botswana, has partned with community leaders in fighting HIV/AIDS especially in rural areas where health facilities are not easily accessible.
Speaking during a two-day workshop in Mahalapye recently,  the country director, Cecil Haverkamp, said  their aim was  to provide health facilities wherever people were travelling far to referral hospitals.
Mr Haverkamp said in the past 20 years, the American government helped Botswana with resources to reduce the deaths of HIV/AIDS patients.
He said they had now decided to focus in empowering the community leaders by forming the community improvement teams (CIT). These CITs were made up of dikgosi, VDC chairperson, PTA chairpersons and other representatives from all committees in the village.
Mr Haverkamp said  they are using already existing institutions such as  kgotla to reach out to the community and offer health care solutions.  
“Consulting with local leadership in carrying out the project is a very important step to take as they know and understand the people they live within their villages thus making healthy decisions ,easy decisions for the community” he said.
He added that after being able to provide with heath facilities they are now strengthening the communities on how they could access the facilities where they are of a good quality.
The CIT which included four from Mahalapye village and other two from Dibete and Pallaroad which started to operate early this year, to encourage people to know their status and to take their treatment well.
Bosabosele team from Dibete said they started teaching people in clinics, kgotla meetings and other gatherings about the importance of taking the ARVs without defaulting.
They said when they started their teachings the clinic had 13 patients who stopped taking their drugs but by July the number reduced to 1 patient who failed to come back. ENDS