26 Sep 2024

Churches and communities across all spheres of life have been encouraged to continue praying for trials bedeviling the country, such as HIV/AIDS, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), road accidents, and Gender Based Violence (GBV).

Officiating at the closure of the Month of Prayer, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Mabuse Pule said Sunday that the end of the month of prayer did not mean the end of prayer, thus calling on everybody to pray without ceasing.

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

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

Mr Pule also appreciated other role prayers in this fight, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs), health workers and the private sector whom he said worked together towards the reduction of public health threats.

He said the battle against HIV/AIDS and 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, multiple concurrent partnerships as well as cross-generational sex were some of the challenges that needed urgent attention.

Mr Pule indicated the youth were the demographic group most affected by HIV/AIDS and other social ills, pointing statistics has shown that females are at the top.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Botswana Christian Health and AIDS Intervention Programme (BOCHAIP), Ms Lerato Mphusu said Botswana faced major challenges in public health and safety including high rates of HIV/AIDS, NCDs, road accidents, GBV and alcohol and substance abuse.

She pointed out that the Christian community with its broad influence and moral framework was well positioned to spearhead a transformative campaign.

The managing director of National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency (NAHPA), Ms Elisabeth Koko said the fight against HIV/AIDS would be winnable if all partners worked together in the response. She commended all stakeholders for their response to HIV/AIDS and NCDs.  ENDs