16 Jun 2019

First Lady Neo Masisi has been appointed UNAIDS Special Ambassador for the empowerment and engagement of young people in Botswana.

The appointment was announced by the acting UNAIDS executive director, Ms Gunilla Carlsson, at the launch of Botswana Multi-Sectoral Strategy for the Prevention of NCDs and the National Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS on June 14.

Explaining what Ms Masisi’ role would entail, Ms Carlsson said the First Lady would champion advocacy on certain critical issues pertaining to young people.

Among those, would be teenage pregnancy, employment and economic empowerment of young people, access to quality education, gender based violence (GBV) and the general empowerment and engagement of young people.

Accepting her new role, Ms Masisi thanked the United Nations for having conferred upon her the honour to serve in that capacity and that she gladly accepted the role because issues of youth empowerment were close to her heart.

Ms Masisi noted that the numerous risks that adolescents and young people faced needed to be addressed, indicating that it had always been her dream even before she knew she would be a First Lady to someday give back to society by engaging in efforts to address such issues.

“Adolescents and young people face numerous risks, which are interlinked. Of these are Gender-Based Violence, HIV infection, teenage pregnancy, drug addiction, and substance abuse. All these, we need to address holistically,” she said. 

She noted that the nation’s children had also voiced their desire to be equipped with essential life skills as part of their empowerment.

She said they had also appealed for parents to openly teach them about sexuality and desist from treating the subject of sex as taboo as that denied them the opportunity to be able to make informed decisions in issues of sex. 

Ms Masisi said the appointment was also an opportunity for her to leverage on her position as First Lady to contribute towards bringing the HIV/AIDS epidemic to an end.

The First Lady said she had also joined other African First Ladies as a member of the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development.

“I will certainly use this opportunity to learn and exchange experiences with my counterparts to ensure that my efforts primarily benefit the young people of Botswana,” she stated.

She appealed to all stakeholders such as government, the church, private sector, traditional leaders, civil society as well as international organisations to come together and meaningfully engage to advocate for and address youth issues. ENDS