13 Sep 2023

High Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI)recorded in Lobatse point to  the prevalence of risky sexual behaviour in the town which could lead to more HIV infections.

The town’s District HIV/AIDS coordinator, Mr Letlhogela Malebe highlighted this during launch of the Month of Prayer Against HIV/AIDS and other diseases at Peleng Kgotla on Tuesday(September . 

The event was organised by Lobatse Ministers Fraternal together with Botswana Christian HIV/AIDS Intervention Programme (BOCAIP).

Mr Malebe said a total of 647 STI cases were recorded in the town from April to June this year.

He said even concerning was the fact that four young people under 14 years were also diagnosed with STIs.

“Cases of STI are a clear indication of unprotected sex or incorrect and inconsistent condom use. These are the challenges we are facing as a district, which call for churches and other stakeholders to assist in preaching change of mindset towards behavioral change,” he said.

Mr Malebe further said the district recorded 20 teenage pregnancy cases in the same period, which further showed that young people engaged in unprotected sex. 

He said six of the cases were students while 14 were out of school teenagers. He said two of those pregnant teenagers were found to have contracted HIV.

In total, he said the district had 5 862 people enrolled in the Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Programme. He said statistics indicated that more women (3 901) compared to men (1 961) were registered in the programme.

He further said the district was doing well in the Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) Programme, since it had no single case of virus transmission from mother to child over the past 18 months.

Mr Malebe said the BIAS V study indicated that 329 000 people in Botswana aged between 15 and 64 years were HIV positive, while 5 800 aged 14 years and below were also positive of the virus. 

He further said the rate of new HIV infections was 2 200 (0.2 per cent) per annum in the 15-64 age bracket.

Mr Malebe said the viral load suppression figures were 91.8 per cent in the 15-64 age bracket, which was around four percent less than the 95 per cent target.

“It's encouraging figures, but we should continue to encourage those infected with HIV in our families or the community to adhere to treatment so that ultimately we can reach the 100 per cent viral load suppression,” said Mr Malebe.

He said the BIAS V indicated that many people still engaged in multiple concurrent sexual relationship.

“Some respondents indicated that they had more than one life sexual partner. It therefore means that we were still far from winning the battle if people are still engaged in sexual relationships with different people,”he said.

Mr Malebe also encouraged parents to change their mindset and discuss sexual issues with their children and advise them to avoid risky behavior that could put them in danger of being infected with HIV.

The Month of Prayer was commemorated to remember those affected by HIV/AIDS and introspect progress made in fighting the virus and Non Communicable Diseases, Gender Based Violence, alcohol and substance abuse, according to Lobatse BOCAIP centre supervisor Ms Patricia Ngwako.

Peleng Customary Court president Ms Tebogo Kemoabe, in her welcome remarks, decried abuse of alcohol and habit forming substances by young people in the township. Ends