09 Sep 2019

Botswana Prisons Services’ (BPS) northern divisional commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner  Sekano Sekano says while the mandate of BPS is to provide security and rehabilitation, none is more important than the other.

Speaking during Kasane state prison wellness day on September 6, Mr Sekano said the reason behind conducting wellness day in all prison facilities was to ensure safe custodial care of inmates because the existing prison health staff could not offer all the services on daily basis.

He said the northern division identified the gap and partnered with other stakeholders to tackle inadequacy in providing essential health care services to the prison community across the North.

He said they started in 2017 and had already covered Mahalapye, Serowe, Maun and Selebi Phikwe prisons.

Mr Sekano said the strategy dubbed, Operation Health Storm, would run until 2022 and was aimed at promoting and providing comprehensive, preventative, curative and rehabilitative health care services not only to the prison community but to the nation as well.

He explained that in Francistown BPS provided services to the Monarch community to demonstrate their commitment as outlined in the strategy.

He said the Kasane event came in September, a month declared a period of prayer for HIV/AIDS and other challenging ailments therefore, the inmates and all those who attended should take advantage of the availability of services to know their health status.

Dr Kabelo Modise of BPS Infectious Disease Control Clinic (IDCC) said prisons had a critical shortage of health personnel hence the need to collaborate with stakeholders after every six months to screen staff and inmates for eye infections, blood pressure, blood sugar level, oral health, HIV, provide psychological support and perform Safe Male Circumcision (SMC).

Dr Modise said Operation Health Storm was Northern division’s effort to compliment the Ministry of Health and Wellness mission statement of promoting and providing health services to the nation. ENDS