02 Aug 2023

Botswana Baylor Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence helps children born with HIV to improve their health and safety through direct service delivery, networking and capacity building, National Coordinator for National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency (NAHPA), Mr Ontiretse Letlhare has said. 

Speaking to the Public Account Committee (PAC) on Tuesday, he said Baylor Trust provided care and support, that included counselling services to the children from birth through their teenage years. 

That he said, was meant to help the children acquire life skills through peer mentorship, adult role modeling and structured activities all of which helped them to build positive relationships. 

Mr Letlhare said owing to that the children accepted their status and coped which was why “a lot of young people have gone public about their status.” 

Mr Letlhare said great strides had been made in reducing the number of infants born with HIV thanks to Botswana’s successful ARV and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) programmes. 

Nonetheless, he said, behavioural change would go a long way defeating HIV, which despite the country’s promising road to epidemic control remained a challenge. 

Therefore, he said, there was “need to strengthen targeted interventions so that the country does not lose successes already achieved.” 

He pointed out that challenges of stigma, discrimination, low risk perception, GBV, poor health seeking behavior among men, inter-generational sex, alcohol and substance abuse continued to impede access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services. 

Mr Letlhare said NAHPA was addressing those challenges through partnerships with local and international organisations for technical and financial support towards the response. 

With regard to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)Mr Letlhare said use of tobacco, lack of physical activity, excessive alcohol use and unhealthy eating habits were some of the habits identified as risks factors. 

NAHPA would conduct a STEPwise surveillance (STEPS) in the next financial year, to provide a general overview of the NCD situation in Botswana and assess the impact of ongoing interventions, he said. 

PAC chairperson, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi had wanted to understand what NAPHA was doing to provide psychosocial and emotional needs of children born with HIV given such children faced a considerable burden of anger, depression, stigma and discrimination. Ends