Africa-Press – Botswana. Men’s reluctance to get tested and know their status is still a challenge despite government and civil societies’ efforts to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS.
This was said by the Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, who is also Member of Parliament for Mochudi East, Mr Mabuse Pule at community dialogues on vulnerability of men and boys on health and social ills at Pitso ya Borre le Basimane held in Paje and Mabeleapudi recently.
Mr Pule said reports from National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency (NAHPA) and the Ministry of Health suggest that men approach health services with so much diffidence.
He said the uptake of health services such as HIV testing, Anti-Retroviral treatment enrolment, voluntary medical male circumcision, screening for cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure was very low.
“Our reluctance to uptake health services can invariably lead to numerous health challenges and can have a telling effect on our quality of life as men, A re tsogeng borra, our families and communities expect to be served by healthy men as our health is our wealth,’’ said Mr Pule.
The assistant minister also advised men to guard against risky behaviour, lifestyles and tendencies such as smoking, alcohol and substance abuse, multiple concurrent sexual partnerships (bo monna ke selepe), overworking and inadequate rest as well as reckless driving while intoxicated.
‘’To mitigate the risk, there is nascent need for testing and screening to get early treatment, prolong our lives and equally prevent the risk of spreading the infection to our loved ones,’’ he said.
Men were also advised to make their health a priority and adopt a healthy lifestyle focusing on early resting and screening for all health conditions, adherence to treatment and medical advice, healthy diet, regular exercise and knowing one’s HIV/AIDS status.
He stated that it was gratifying that the faith communities’ initiative programme run byBotswana Faith Based Organisations Network on HIV/AIDS and Health Promotion (BOFABONETHA) which focuses on reaching men and boys and also protecting children especially girls had gained traction, adding that the initiative was critical to sustain the battle against Gender Based Violence.
Mr Pule indicated that they all needed to recreate the society and raise a new generation of boys, young men and men, who would rise to the occasion and become torch-bearers in society and family setup.
The dialogue was organised for men as a broader part of community dialogue on vulnerability of men and boys on issues of health, social ills and values, an auspicious occasion hosted by BOFABONETHA.
The Bahai faith, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Traditional Health Practitioners and other related groupings were brought together in an effort to coordinate the faith sector’s response to challenges of HIV/AIDS, health promotion and social ills.
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