09 Dec 2019

 An AIDS activist, Ms Neo Simon says people should desist from using words that instill fear, stigma and discrimination on people living with AIDS.

Speaking at Tonota Sub-district World AIDS day commemoration on November 6, Ms Simon said words such as ‘segajaja’ could instill fear on people who want to test for HIV.

She also advocated for behavioural change, urging people to understand their identity in a personal and social context.

“Acceptance starts with you as an individual hence making you ready for society’s discernment about yourself. Being HIV positive does not mean the world has ended for you, but how you deal with the fact that you are HIV positive determines your life contour,” she said.

Ms Simon further explained that she chose to become an advocate for her own health, and views her status as an asset in helping those who were voiceless.

She advised those living with the disease that they could still live a lavish life despite their HIV positive status, noting that they could also have children and a happy family.

Ms Simon further stated that those living with HIV should make mental reversals to say, ‘I am not going to die. I am not going to let all of these dynamics ruin my life. I am now going to be bolder than I was before,” she said.

Giving a keynote address, a senior teacher at Shashe River School and a pastor at Bread of Life Church, Mr Lebogang Kgole said government had made notable progress through programmes that encourage communities to work together to control HIV.

Such programmes, he said, included community conversation strategy and Communities Acting Together to Control HIV model (CATCH Model).

He said with the model community leadership took the responsibility in strategising the response interventions, and encouraged traditional leaders to continue with their work of sensitising communities about the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

Furthermore, he said the 2019 UNAIDS global report estimated that annual new HIV infections had dropped from 13 000 in 2010 to 8 000 in 2018.

“While these achievements are commendable they are far from the required global targets of reducing our annual infections by 75 per cent in order to conquer epidemiological control by 2020.

As Tonota Sub-district, we still have people who get infected by HIV hence calls for contemplation,” he said. Pastor Kgole said with regards to AIDS related deaths, indicators had showed that the numbers had decreased from 7 300 in 2010 to 4 800 in 2018 due to the treatment programmes the government had adopted.

“We also need to be prompted that these figures were as high as 18 000 per annum at the peak of the epidemic in the early 90’s,” he said.

Pastor Kgole said currently an estimated 370 000 people in Botswana were living with HIV with a national prevalence rate of 18.5 per cent.

“Females are more infected at 20.8 per cent compared to males at 15.6 per cent in our sub district,” he said.

He said Botswana had persistently led the world in ensuring a low rate of mother to child transmission, currently appraised to be the lowest in the region at 2.5 per cent.

“This means that we must work as mutual communities to prevent infections to our new born babies. Our sub district is committed to work with all stakeholders, including political leadership as well as communities to address socio-cultural and economic barriers to HIV prevention,” he said.

Pastor Kgole said the focus for the HIV prevention roadmap up to 2020 was on primary prevention, promotion as well as the provision of effective tools to prevent HIV infections.

This year’s event was commemorated under the theme: Communities make the difference.

The theme recognises and encourages the role that activists, peer educators, people living with HIV/AIDS, sex workers, including faith based leaders play in the fight against AIDS.

ENDS