06 Dec 2020

Chobe District Council chairperson, Mr Amos Mabuku, says it is estimated that out of the 23 347 population of the district, 4 117 people were living with HIVAIDS.

Speaking at the district World AIDS Day commemoration recently, he said Chobe was consistently recording zero per cent of mother to child transmissions cases. 

He noted that such showed that efforts by the district were bearing fruits, adding that ending HIVAIDS was achievable if vertical transmission of HIV could be reduced to below one per cent. At a national level, Cllr Mabuku said government had made efforts to tacke the HIV/AIDS pandemic, hence surpassing the UNAIDS target 90-90-90 in 2019.

As for the AIDS- related deaths, Cllr Mabuku said indications were that they had decreased from an estimated 7 300 in 2010 to 4 800 in 2018 while the figures were as high as 18 000 per annum at the peak of the pandemic in the early 90s. 

Cllr Mabuku said last year, government in collaboration with President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) adopted a policy on providing free HIV/AIDS services to non-citizens in Botswana and to date 2 965 were accessing antri retroviral services free.

He said in order to further reduce new HIV infections, government introduced Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to HIV negative individuals who were 18 years and above and at risk of acquiring the infection.

Cllr Mabuku said people should be reminded that no country could tackle challenges facing humanity in isolation. 

He said called on communities, faith leaders, civil society and donors to come together in fighting the scourge. 

He said solidarity and responsibility between government and the community in ensuring continuity of HIV services even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was witnessed.

Kasane Customary Court president, Kgosi Thuso Wasetso, commended Chobe Regional Health Management Team (RHMT) for its efforts in fighting the spread of infectious diseases such as HYIV/AIDS and COVID-19.

He also decried that gender based violence (GBV), which was one of the contributory factors to HIV/AIDS was rampant in Kasane. 

He pleaded with women to desist from withdrawing GBV cases from courts since they were the root cause of other social problems.

A nurse, Ms Princess Mathalaza implored the residents to report defilement cases to relevant institutions. She urged the audience to seek medical attention for all Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). She said uncontrolled STIs can increase the risks of one getting HIV/AIDS.

Chobe District AIDS Coordinator, Mr Mompati Segare said the objectives of the day’s commemoration were to remind all about the impact of HIV/AIDS, appreciate government and other stakeholders’ input in reducing the impact if the pandemic, acknowledge the significant progress made in the fight against HIV/AIDS and to remind the public that the fight continues and to encourage those living with HIV that it is not the end of their lives as with adherence to ART they can still live a normal life. Ends