04 Apr 2018

Despite the war against HIV and AIDS having been fought for years, the scourge is still regarded as a threat to the nation and needs to be fought with all the resources available.

This was said by Thebephatshwa Airbase Commander, Colonel Hendrik Rakgantswana during the commemoration of the Month of Youth Against AIDS (MYAA) by the Letlhakeng Sub -district at Salajwe recently.

Col Rakgantswana said that despite messages on HIV and AIDS having been preached for many years, statistics indicated that there was still a need to put more effort and resources in the fight as Batswana continued to be infected and affected on a daily basis.

After reeling off statistics of how the scourge has affected Botswana in general and Kweneng District in particular, Col. Rakgantswana indicated that Thebephatshwa Airbase had pledged to assist Kweneng with all the necessary support and resources in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

“This is just our way of giving back to the community as it has accommodated us on their land, so we will always avail our support and resources whenever there is a need to do so in the area,” he said.

He also said that what was even scarier about the statistics was that some people never check their status, meaning that the statistics might even be higher than what was officially known. 

He however, said that Batswana should make a commitment that the statistics remain constant. 

He said to achieve this, Batswana both infected and affected should take the right step and utilise the available government programmes such as Treat-All and use protection.

He also advised those that were positive not to despair, but rather religiously take their medication to prevent their health conditions deteriorating any further.

 Ms Benedicta Sillah from the District Administration office in Letlhakeng said that MYAA was meant to help the youth to improve their lifestyles in areas of health especially that they were the most at risk of HIV infections.

She also said that the month was meant to increase awareness among members of the community on issues of HIV and AIDS in general as a well-informed person could make better life decisions.

Ms Sillah also encouraged the youth to use the month to introspect on their daily habits and find ways to better deal with the scourge. 

Cllr Lopang Sebutlenyane of Salajwe said that health matters should be made a priority over material things like wealth accumulation, and therefore urged the youth to make investing in their heath a priority. 

He said such investment included making exercising a daily habit. 

Cllr Sebutlenyane also said that for many years, government has been taking the war against HIV and AIDS seriously, and that looking at that, the country should ideally be HIV and AIDS free. ENDS