16 Feb 2017

It is the responsibility of individuals to live a healthy lifestyle to avoid getting both communicable and non-communicable diseases, which are on the rise, Member of Parliament for Gaborone Bonnington South, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe has said.
Mr Gaolathe said it was important for individuals to go for HIV/AIDS testing frequently and also test for non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and sugar diabetes in order to live healthily.
He said this during the Gaborone Health Fair.
For his part, the mayor of Gaborone, Mr Kagiso Thutlwe said the 90-90-90 campaign aims to end the AIDS epidemic by the year 2030, noting that the first 90 means that 90 per cent of people should know their HIV/AIDS status. 90 per cent of those who are infected should have access to ARVs and the last 90 means 90 per cent suppression of viral load.
Mr Thutlwe however urged people to make a difference by testing for HIV/AIDS and eat healthy foods to avoid non-communicable diseases.
He also urged all stakeholders to unite in order to eradicate the diseases.
Meanwhile, the head of Preventive Care at the District Multi Sectoral AIDS Committee DMSAC, Dr Martin Azama said it was important to go for HIV/AIDS testing regularly so that people could know their status and if infected, enroll for ARV treatment as early as possible.
He further said the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Gaborone stands at 17 per cent, while Tuberculosis (TB) is the second killer after HIV/AIDS.
Dr Azama noted that DMSAC wants to increase safe male circumcision numbers from 1 560 to 5 035 by March 31, 2018.
Furthermore, he said alcohol use among adolescents was high, together with the multi-drug resistance TB cases.
“We would like to provide the community with health education and emphasise the practice of good health through talk shows and drama competitions,” said Dr Azama. ENDS