27 Jun 2019

 First ladies of Rwanda and Botswana have praised Botswana Baylor Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence for outstanding work in in HIV/AIDS care and treatment as well as psycho-social support for adolescents and young adults.

Rwanda first lady, Ms Jeannette Kagame and Botswana’s Ms Neo Masisi visited Baylor centre today as part of Rwanda president, Mr Paul Kagame’s ongoing two-day state visit to Botswana.

Both first ladies have passion for HIVAIDS related matters, hence being appointed to special ambassadorial positions by the UNAIDS.

Ms Kagame was in December 2018 appointed UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescent Health due to her outstanding contributions towards the empowerment of women and girls while Ms Masisi was appointed as UNAIDS Special Ambassador for the Empowerment and Engagement of Young People recently for her contribution to HIV/AIDS education.

Therefore, the visit to Baylor Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence provided them with an opportunity to interact with some of the centre’s beneficiaries.

Ms Kagame commended the benefiaries for living positively with HIV and busting the stigma associated with the virus. 

“I also wish to thank your families for supporting you through this journey and standing with you,” she said.

Ms Masisi also appreciated Baylor for providing psycho-social support to young adults and moulding them into well-rounded and responsible adults.

“It would be good for some of you to come along and join me on my HIVAIDS education roadshow, which I have been carrying out throughout the country because you are quite inspirational,” she said.

Young adults testified of the impact that the centre had had on their lives including acquisition of leadership and general life skills as well as utilizing the centre as a platform for peer-to-peer engagement and interactions.

Ms Cecilia Thebe shared how supportive the centre had been to her as a young mother. 

“My five year old daughter is bubbly and HIV-negative,” she said.

Baylor Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence is a public-private partnership with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, which is affiliated to Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, United States.

Part of the centre’s programmes and services include HIV testing and counseling, teen clubs, young mother’s support groups and cervical cancer screening.  ENDS