10 Oct 2022

Churches and communities  have been urged to continue praying for end of HIV/AIDS, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), road accidents, COVID-19 and gender based violence (GBV).

Selebi Phikwe residents learnt that prayer reflected human elements and acknowledged that there was God who was a supreme being.

The Minister of Health, Dr Edwin Dikoloti, said this at the official closing of month of prayer in Selebi Phikwe on Sunday.

He said end of the month of prayer did not mean the end of prayer, calling everybody to pray without ceasing.

“You must make prayer your everyday routine as it brings results including healing in relation to mental and social problems affecting our people,” he added.

He commended the church for having held these prayers consistently for the past 26 years, adding Botswana was a blessed country.

“We have stood the test of time and overcame different challenges, we need to thank the good Lord for all of that. Botswana has achieved progressive milestones against the fight against HIV/AIDS,” the minister said.

Dr Dikoloti explained that the results of the Botswana AIDS Impact Survey of 2021 (BAIS V) showed that 93.2 per cent of people living with HIV/AIDS knew their status, whilst 97.9 per cent of those who knew their status had enrolled on ARVs.

The results, he said, also showed that 98 per cent of those on ARVs were virally suppressed, adding it was a great milestone closer to ending HIV/AIDS by the year 2030.

Dr Dikoloti also appreciated other role prayers in this fight including NGOs, health workers and the private sector whom he said worked together towards the reduction of public health threats, adding their efforts would never go unnoticed.

In addition, he said the battle against HIV/AIDS as well as NCDs was far from being won, hence an urgent need to pay a special attention to issues that cause new HIV infections.

He said alcohol and substance abuse ,which were on the rise, GBV and all its forms, multiple and concurrent partnerships as well as cross-generational sex were some of the challenges that needed undivided attention.

“We ought to curb social ills and also help stop all the harmful beliefs and practices which promote them. I encourage the church to ensure that their teachings and doctrine drive people towards certain behaviours to avoid harmful practices. The church should promote good health amongst its members and the community at large,” the minister said.

Furthermore, he said NCDs were a burden not only to the government, but also individual families and communities, adding the economy would always be affected.

For his part Botswana Christian Health and AIDS intervention Programme (BOCAIP) national board chairperson, Reverend Keleneilwe Kgerethwa said the church, in collaboration with government, resolved to host a month of prayer.

Therefore, September was set aside as the month of prayer.

“Though we go through difficult times, we make a confession that joy comes in the morning and that when God is on our side we shall be victorious,” he added.

He said the month of prayer was established to pull churches together regardless of their doctrines to a praying mode for a nation that was subjected to high mortality.

To build a nation that prayed together, Reverend Kgerethwa said, the church endeavored to continue praying for peace, security and also to acknowledge that science and faith co-existed.

To attain a snap shot of the purpose of month of prayer, he said it was necessary that relevant structures were put in place and as such BOCAIP was birthed as a conduit of processes and relations.

He said BOCAIP had grown to become an establishment that no longer focused on HIV/AIDS but also on other public related challenges such as the COVID-19, NCDs, GBV and road accidents.

Reverend Kgerethwa commended government, through the Ministry of Health, for the recent establishment of the National Public Health Institute explaining that ‘the church is ready to work with you in attaining such as monumental assignment of public good.

for his part, Selebi Phikwe East MP, Mr Kgoberego Nkawana, commended the church and other stakeholders for delivering a successful closing of the month of prayer event.

He said the event empowered the businesses in Selebi Phikwe calling for more events to be held in the town to boost the business community.

Kgosi Molefi Pilane of Ikageleng ward added that even though the war against COVID-19 was not over yet, this country made big strides in combating the virus because of prayer. Ends