11 Jun 2026

Given the demanding nature of their work, media practitioners have been implored to prioritise their health and overall well-being to avoid burnout.  

The call was made by Botswana Medical Aid Society (BOMAID) corporate communication manager, Ms Tshepo Maphanyane during a meet and greet with media personnel in Maun on Monday.

She notind that journalists were doing a sterling job to inform and educate the nation and yet faced relentless news cycles, tight deadlines and chronic exposure to distressing events.  

She thus urged them to take advantage of the organisation’s Thrive with BOMAID Media Health Challenge aimed at encouraging all journalists’ country wide to prioritise their overall well-being amid their stressful work. 

To participate in the challenge, journalists were encouraged to join through the Thrive app, a smart technology used for health intelligence to track fitness goals and entire health goals. 

She described it as a personal trainer that encouraged people to do regular exercises, which were essential for a longer healthier life as it promoted health and early detection of non-communicable diseases. 

While the app was designed for BOMAID customers, Ms Maphanyane highlighted that they extended the service to the media practitioners because they viewed them as critical stakeholders. 

“Your health to us is an investment hence we saw it fit to reward you through this challenge because you are doing a sterling job and yet you face occupational hazards that comes with the job. Your profession is faced with challenges and this is the time to step up, stay active, put your health first and earn rewards every step. Winners will be determined by consistency and activity tracked in the app to win prize monies ranging from P10,000, P7,500 and P5,000 for first to third prize,” she added.   

Ms Maphanyane is of the view that people should not be dying from non-communicable diseases because they hold significant control over many risk factors of such diseases. 

When people reach a certain age, she said health issues would invite themselves and the thrive app could arrest the situation.  

BOMAID human resource manager, Mr Ogolotse Kgamanyane conceded that the initiative was good as it improved the overall wellness and health be it physical, mental, emotional as well as cardio life. 

He described it as an active health management service that lowered stress levels. 

He emphasised that journalists were highly susceptible to stress and its detrimental health effects due to the demanding nature of their profession and with the Thrive media challenge, they could manage their welfare and wellness journey. 

“Prioritising health through the use of Thrive technology is essential for sustaining long term wellbeing and professional resilience. This initiative is meant to improve and save lives because it can detect heart rate, fatigue and other health risks”, he said.

Mr Kgamanyane further noted that workers’ well-being affected not only their health but also their effectiveness hence it was advisable to exercise all the time.

In the workplace, he said the app also was good to reduce absenteeism and boost productivity and retention. ENDS