02 Apr 2019

A 2016 Botswana Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance Survey (BYRBSS) has revealed that 69 per cent of youth under the age of 13 in Chobe District indulge in sexual activities.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Month of Youth Against AIDS (MYAA) in Kasane on March 30, Chobe District AIDS coordinator, Mr Kebonyemodisa Marumo, said 80 per cent of them used condoms inconsistently.

He said the same study indicated that 78 per cent used alcohol before the age of 13 years.

He further said while the prevalence rate of HIV in the district declined by 12 per cent, the prevalence rate of HIV in the range of 15-19 years in Chobe was three times more than the national average.

Mr Marumo noted that in 2018, 83 teenage pregnancies were recorded and out of the 82 who underwent HIV testing, 10 were positive.

He, however, said the district was doing well in Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) because since 2016 to date, only two transmission cases were recorded.

He said the district was one of the few in which women abused alcohol more than their male counterparts.

The National AIDS Coordinating Agency Coordinator (NACA), Mr Richard Matlhare, noted that the statistics revealed that Mr Marumo was a national challenge and it was upon the youth to reverse them.

Mr Matlhare said one area of concern was that over 50 per cent of sex workers in the region were from Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

He said Botswana was third highest in HIV infection after eSwatini and Lesotho globally.

Giving a key note address, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Mr Kago Ramokate urged Chobe youth to take heed of the messages.

He said they must not regress and always remember that the virus was still dangerous, affected their wellbeing as well as  their productivity at the workplace.

Mr Ramokate said the country promoted testing and enrolment in Anti-Retroviral and PMTCT.

He, however, said the availability of treatment should not overshadow the messages of not getting infected.

On the Chobe District statistics, Mr Ramokate said stakeholders should encourage each other to ensure no new infections.

He said those who were infected should not be discriminated.

He said more than two thirds of Botswana’s population was under the age of 35 years.

While this might be an advantage Mr Ramokate said it was also a cause of concern since most of the people in that age bracket were HIV positive.

Ms Mula ko Mwanamwalye Lubinda of the Zambia Youth Council commended Botswana for providing a platform for the youth to discuss HIV/AIDS issues.

She said in Zambia infection rates were still higher in border towns and the country was faced with similar challenges of low usage of condoms and people refusing to go for testing just like in Botswana.

She said they have introduced Diva centres, as an initiative to encourage young people to access HIV/AIDS services.

She explained that at the centres mentors spoke with the young people while doing their hair, nails and other beauty services.

Earlier, Kgosi Mokwena Balemogeng of Kazungula was concerned that although messages were disseminated on daily basis, people in Kazungula continued to engage in prostitution.

Other speakers at the event were representatives of Zimbabwe Youth Council and the African Union-Southern African Regional office as well as Chobe district council chairperson who urged the youth to wait until the right time and encouraged elderly men to desist from luring children with expansive cars and gifts.

The theme of the MYAA was “Know Your Status”. ENDS