27 Apr 2020

Some civil societies affiliated to Ngamiland Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (NCONGO) have pledged to ensure compliance to COVID-19 protocols.

The organisations include Women Against Rape (WAR), Shelter Botswana, Thuso Rehabilitation Centre, BOFWA, BOCAIP, Tshidilong Rehabilitation Centre, Bana Ba Letsatsi, Okavango Kopano Mokoro Community Trust (OKMCT) and the Red Cross among others

NCONGO executive director, Mr Siyoka Simasiku said in an interview that they met with the Ngami District Health Management Team (DHMT) before the commencement of the extreme social distancing period and agreed to partner with them in health promotion during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said they agreed to divide the participating civil societies into four clusters of Bojanala, Central, Nhabe and Maun East. He added that their role was to ensure the community adhered to health precaution measures.

The organisations, he said, would also ensure that hand wash systems were available in strategic areas such as shopping complexes. They would also encourage people to maintain extreme social distancing all the time.

Mr Simasiku said they were not only focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic, but were also assessing the risks of malaria and diarrhea outbreaks as the district anticipated floods.

He noted that the district was prone to waterborne diseases hence the need to sensitise communities and ensure children under the age of five had access to health services such as Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) on time.

Since some organisations have no resources, Mr Simasiku said they had pledged their staff to offer their services while educating communities.

WAR social workers, he said, were providing counselling and assisting on issues of gender based violence and substance abuse. In addition, he said WAR and NCONGO pledged two vehicles each to transport officers.

He also noted that some donations were from their partners in the tourism sector. He added that they had been assisting some civil societies and had decided to redirect the donations to the office of the district commissioner to assist.

On other issues, Mr Simasiku said the issuance of permits was a challenge as they experienced an influx of people in shops and health facilities.

He also noted that some residents had complained of lack of food while some decried shortage of transport to collect drugs as far as Maun.

Mr Simasiku also noted that some participating organisations were crying foul because they were not covered under the COVID-19 relief subsidy. Ends