07 Aug 2019

 Some pupils at Madiba Senior Secondary School in Mahalapye are of the view that availing condoms at schools will help curb the spread of HIV.

They aired their views during a meeting with the First Lady, Ms Neo Masisi on August 6 .

The pupils said they were equally worried by the increasing number of new HIV infections among the youth, hence calling for provision of condoms at the school.

However, others were against the idea of condoms at school and encouraged their peers to resist the temptation of engaging in sexual activities.

Some advocated for regular health talks encouraging pupils to actively engage in the fight against HIV/AIDS, with one advising his peers, who were advocating for condoms, to be mindful that the school was not a place where pupils were being orientated to engage in sexual activities.

Prior to engaging with pupils at Madiba, the First Lady visited Shoshong Senior Secondary School, where pupils appealed to Ms Masisi and her team to share some of their challenging childhood experiences and how they overcame them.

The pupils said some parents were not comfortable with discussing sexual issues with their children and therefore it was difficult to discuss their challenges with them.

Ms Masisi advised pupils to note that engaging in sexual activities would not by any chance add value to their learning.

She said it was unfortunate that children of their age were actively engaging in sexual acts. She stressed that the school environment was meant to empower the youth and therefore it was important to heed the fact that sexual encounters that usually resulted in the spread of HIV and unwanted pregnancies was a hindrance.

She appealed to the pupils to be at the forefront in the fight against HIV/AIDS, adding that the current campaign was the final sprint focused on combating new infections.

“We are on the final lap of the fight against HIV/AIDS and our target is to stop new HIV infections by 2030,” she said, adding that the sprint to the finish line dubbed Dipalameletse would require e involvement of all stakeholders, noting that it was unfortunate that, despite efforts by health practitioners, new HIV infections were being recorded.

She noted that in terms of HIV prevalence, Botswana was the third highest behind Lesotho and eSwatini, stressing that her campaign was aimed turning the tide and making Botswana a leader in combating the spread of HIV.

She said young people, who were the majority of the national populace, were mostly affected by HIV, as 50 per cent of the tested young people in the age category of 15-24 years tested positive.

“We are concerned as our efforts of developing an HIV free generation were being reversed,” said Ms Masisi.

She said the youth must focus on living behind a positive legacy, of championing the fight against new HIV infections, adding, “as young people talk to each other and stop the spread of HIV”.

Ms Masisi said studies had revealed that young people lacked knowledge and awareness on HIV/AIDS as well as being limited on sexual education, with some being more worried about getting pregnant as they believe that ARVs will be readily available to deal with the virus.

She added that sexual orientation at a young age was a challenge for the youth of Botswana and urged them to wait and reserve themselves for the right moment.

“Sexual relationships come with consequences and I doubt that at your age you are ready to deal with them. Stay innocent and focus on your studies,” she pleaded. Ms Masisi said young people engaged in risky behaviours such as casual and unprotected sexual acts, multiple and concurrent partners, use of illicit drugs and alcohol.

“Drugs and alcohol take away your judgement and you engage in sexual acts without consent, resulting in unwanted pregnancies and HIV infection,” she said, advising the students to take note of the people they hang around with as they contribute immensely to their decision making. Shoshong Senior Secondary School head, Mr Peter Moalosi said the school had an enrolment of 852 pupils, of which 593 were boarders.  Mr Moalosi said the school was experiencing a challenge of dropouts, revealing that in 2017, 23 pupils dropped out of school, in

2018 nine dropouts were registered and six in the current year. He said pupils left school due to a variety of reasons, including pregnancy.

Mr Moalosi said Shoshong senior was a catchment school for 49 villages and therefore parental support was lacking, since most parents were not able to visit the school.

Despite the challenging environment, he said the school was steadily shedding the poor performance label as in the past two years, they recorded an improvement and received appreciation accolades in 2018, for being among the top schools with satisfactory academic improvement, said Mr Moalosi.

Meanwhile, the Madiba Senior Secondary School head was equally concerned about the increasing numbers of dropouts as a result of pregnancy and other unexplained reasons.

Mr Ogolotse Tshupelo said in 2017, 11 pupils left school as a result of pregnancy, followed by 17 in 2018 and seven in 2019.

Mr Tshupelo said the use of drugs and alcohol were a challenge, adding there was also a serious shortage of sanitary pads for both boarding and off campus students.

The First Lady is working with the National AIDS and Health Promotional Agency (NAHPA) to drive adolescent and youth people’s (AYP) agenda.

She is also a member of the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS for Development, whose mandate is to support HIV prevention, treatment and care support programmes for young people.

Her mandate also focuses on empowering young people and women and she has also been appointed a UNAIDS special ambassador on the empowerment and engagement of AYP in Botswana.

As part of her mandate, Ms Masisi  has embarked on a nationwide tour engaging secondary school pupils on issues relating to HIV/AIDS as well as encouraging them to focus on their education. ENDS