25 Sep 2024

 There is a growing concern of rising number of Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases in the North East District.

Addressing the full council meeting on Monday, North East District Council Chairperson, Mr Kudzani Tobokwani said the latest GBV case was of the killing of three children in Tati Siding.

He said the fight against GBV required concerted and concentrated effort from all stakeholders with responsibility of promoting human rights.

Mr Tobokwani advised fellow councillors to hold hands and encourage other stakeholders in the community to take their position in the prevention and protection of GBV victims and survivors.

He said the district continued to receive inordinate amounts of cases related to child sexual abuse as since April, a total of 29 cases have been recorded, bringing all cases on register to 159.

He pointed out that the prevalence was highly concentrated in Matsiloje, Matshelagabedi, Tati Siding, Shashe Bridge, Ditladi, Tsamaya, Tshesebe, Themashanga, Moroka, Nlapkhwane, Mbalambi, Kalakamati,  Makaleng, Gulubane, Mosojane and Masunga.

On the issue of health, Mr Tobokwani said there has been an outbreak of MPox in neighbouring countries like South Africa and as a result the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared MPox  a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

“To date, there has not been a case of MPox in Botswana and we pray it remains as such,” he said adding that to be on the alert as a district they had  put measures in place for surveillance as well as containment in the event a case was discovered.

He encouraged community members to take good care of their health and report any suspected cases to the nearest health facility for prompt action. ENDS