09 Oct 2022

Botswana has emerged as a model for effective strategies against HIV/AIDS.

Speaking Friday in Gaborone at the closing ceremony of the Month of Prayer Against HIV/AIDS hosted by the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, labour advisor, Mr Claude Mojafi said Botswana also found itself riddled with other challenges, which demanded that prayer must be continued.

He said non-communicable diseases, COVID-19 and road traffic accidents, which continued to claim lives, were included in the prayers that started September.

This year’s theme: Peace and Grace; The Divine Gifts for Abundant Health and the scriptural reference provided by Botswana Council of Churches, Jeremiah 33.6, aimed to encourage Batswana to have hope, knowledge and understanding that God was able to heal and restore the nation.

Mr Mojafi said 2 781 people lost their lives to COVID-19, but applauded government on priority number one of the Reset Agenda which talked about saving lives, by availing vaccines, adding statistics indicated that more than 1.8 million people had received their first dose to date.

“I’m happy to share with you that in our ministry, as of July, 1 542 ministry personnel had been vaccinated,” said Mr Mojafi.

He said the Ministry of Health had observed an increase in non-communicable diseases exacerbated by risky habits as smoking, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity.

“Studies have shown that these risky habits are gaining ground making NCDs the leading cause of death for most people, he said.

As for road accidents, he said Botswana Police Service 2021 annual report indicated that road traffic accident rose by 14.6 per cent from 15075 accidents recorded in 2020 to 17277 registered in 2021. 

He urged all to continue praying for these ailments to end and treat the month of prayer campaign as a yearlong programme that must be a theme in people’s daily lives. Ends