08 Aug 2017

Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Ms Shenaaz El-Halabi says the Kazungula Wellness Centre has been providing services to Chobe District and relieving congestion from the government facilities since its inception and also providing services to the community segment which the government was not able to reach.

Speaking at the handing over of the Cross-border Initiative (CBI) Wellness site by SADC Secretariat on August 7, Ms El-Halabi said the project targeted Long Distance Truck Drivers (LDTDs), Sex workers and communities living adjacent to borders.

The initiative consisted of essential interventions including STI diagnosis and treatment, HIV Counseling and testing, Behavior Change communication, post-exposure prophylaxis and condom distribution.

Ms El-Halabi noted that since its inception, the Kazungula Wellness Centre has covered 33 500 clients; 20 900 being community members along the borders, 10 700 LDTDs while 1 900 were sex workers.

She further noted that the facilities tested 50-100 clients per month and more LDTDs accessed counseling and testing services more than before, and were tested and treated for STIs.

The permanent secretary however pointed out that the centre had experienced a few challenges which were of major concern such as foreigners especially truck drivers who at times ask for ARV Drugs refill.

She said another challenge was that due to sex work being illegal in Botswana, those who practiced it find it difficult to identify themselves as sex workers.

“Temporary suspension of services due delay in disbursement of funds between SADC and its sub-recipients (June-August 2015) has had some negative impact on service delivery because the target group especially the sex workers and truck drivers preferred to access the services at the clinic in the evenings,” she added, highlighting that the situation was addressed to facilitate implementation of services.

She extended her gratitude to the SADC Secretariat for coming up with the initiative of establishing CBI Wellness Centers saying the initiative was a good strategy in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Ms El-Halabi further added that the government would ensure sustainability and continue operations of the wellness clinic to ensure that it operated within the framework of National Health System.

For her part, SADC acting director of social development Ms Nomthandazo Mavimbela thanked the health ministry for the ‘memorable event’ of handing over the centre, a vision she said they shared with Global Fund.

She said it was the mandate of the SADC to ensure that the residents of the SADC countries had adequate health facilities and that “seeing and idea materialize was a dream come true.”

The Cross-border Initiative was implemented in 2009 after the Global Fund granted the SADC Secretariat US$45m, with the grant to be implemented over a five year period divided into two phases. ENDS