19 Mar 2018

Kgatleng District commemorated the Month of Youth Against AIDS (MYAA) in of Kgomodiatshaba as way of reaching out to the youth in remote area settlement.

Speaking during the commemoration on recently, Kgatleng District Council chairperson, Mr Mpho Morolong said the theme, The Right to Health-My health, My Right, encouraged all including youth to exercise their right to health and take responsibility for their actions and decisions they make.

He said government had always been at the forefront of funding HIV/AIDS services aimed at prevention, treatment, care and support. Mr Morolong further said HIV/AIDS services targeted everyone and were provided free of charge but despite the efforts, the number of new HIV cases, STIs and teenage pregnancy among the youth continued to be a major concern.

He said according to the Technical Advisory Committee report, a total of 12 431people aged 15-49 years tested for HIV in Kgatleng District in the year 2016/17 and 817 tested positive.

Mr Morolong further said 205 teenage pregnancy cases were registered compared to 239 in 2015/16 with 97 per cent unplanned pregnancies and 21 per cent occurred under influence of alcohol.

The council chairperson said STI cases increased from 3 303 in 2015/16 to 4 872 in 2016/17, which could be attributed to incorrect and inconsistent condom use, which was likely to increase exposure of contracting HIV.

Therefore, Mr Morolong advised youth that time was now for them to strengthen their efforts in HIV/AIDS interventions and refrain from other social ills.

He said while health and well being tended to be similar for the youth, there were challenges,  which were particular to those living in remote and rural areas due to inadequate services, limited opportunities for employment and infrastructure such as transport and recreational facilities.

He said Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development had committed to enhance developments that would benefit all youth and satisfy their needs through programmes and strategies such as the Affirmative Action Framework for Remote Area Communities.

Mr Morolong said one of the youth empowerment initiatives targeting youth living in remote area communities, which was the brainchild of the local government ministry, was the Miss RADP pageant, which had brought tremendous transformation in the lives of young women in various settlements. When giving an overview of MYAA, Botswana National Youth Counil, chief programmes officer, Ms Emang Seabo said government took a decision in 1997 to mobilise youth to fight against HIV/AIDS.

She said during that time, the HIV/AIDS pandemic was at its worst and government had to put in strategies to curb the diseases by engaging youth and bringing them on board as they were affected by the HIV scourge.

Ms Seabo said through the programme, youth were encouraged to have an input in the fight against HIV/AIDS and also give them a platform to discuss HIV/AIDS issues and come up with strategies to stop the spread of the disease.

She said the month of March was then set aside for youth education on HIV/AIDS more so that the youth continue to be affected and statistics showed that 10.7 per cent of girls aged 15-25 were affected while for boys was 4.8 per cent. Ms Seabo urged the youth to be more proactive on the fight against HIV/AIDS and use available government and non-governmental organisations programmes.

Deputy paramount chief of Bakgatla, Kgosi Bana Sekai cautioned the youth against engaging in sexual activities while they were still young. He encouraged them to go for testing so that they know their status and make sure that they start living a positive lifestyle.

Kgosi Sekai applauded people living with HIV/AIDS who gave testimonies that they were still living strong on ARVs thanks to government and implored others not to be afraid. ENDS