04 Nov 2013

The Ministry of Health will this month commemorate 'Movember' to make an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health.

Speaking at the start of the commemoration, acting director of department of public health, Mr Setshwano Mokgweetsinyana said this month men would be required to shave their moustache in a way that would attract attention from the public.

Mr Mokgweetsinyana noted that while impressive reproductive health services were widely available in the country, these services were not designed in ways that made them easily accessible to all target groups, especially men.

He noted over the years, reproductive health services had been designed largely to benefit women and children through the maternal and child health care services. The focus on women and children, he said, was due to the perception that reproductive roles in terms of pregnancy, child bearing and child rearing were exclusively for women.

Furthermore, Mr Mokgweetsinyana said in 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPC) highlighted the significance of addressing the sexual and reproductive health needs for all as core for population and development.

The conference, he said, emphasised gender equality and highlighted the need to engage the male sector of the population into participating and bearing the burden of reproduction as equal partners.

He said though the statistics from Botswana Cancer Association showed a high proportion of women being affected by cancer as compared to men, males suffering from cancer had raised a concern that they being neglected and stigmatised.

Mr Mokgweetsinyana said in most cases cancers of male reproductive systems were diagnosed late due to an array of factors including unavailability of services for male health services, inadequate skills among service providers, socio-cultural beliefs and practices on the part of males about diseases that affect them.

However, he said, majority of cancers predominant in male could be attributed to some unhealthy lifestyles like tobacco use and alcohol use. Most common cancers affecting males in Botswana are Kaposi Sarcoma (skin) at 24 per cent, cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx 11 per cent, cancer of oesophagus 10 per cent, prostate cancer seven per cent and cancer of bronchus and lung at five per cent.

He said in view of the situation, the Ministry of Labour and Home affairs’ gender affairs department, Cancer Association of Botswana (CAB) and other stakeholders would like to join the international community in the commemoration of Movember. Movember is derived from the words Moustache and November and is celebrated across the world. ends