Hypertension cases surge in Tlokweng District
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Wednesday September 16, 2026 06:00
The report identifies hypertension and diabetes as persistent high-burden non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the district, a situation that remains a concern for the district and health authorities. According to the DDC, 154 new hypertension patients were initiated on treatment, up from 77 in the previous quarter.
Furthermore, the report has indicated that repeat attendances for hypertension increased substantially, from 1,829 to 3,032, indicating a rise in the number of patients returning for care during the quarter.
Whilst hypertension cases increased, the report recorded a significant decline in new Type 2 diabetes cases.
“Only one new Type 2 diabetes case was recorded during the reporting period, compared with 23 new clients reported in the previous quarter,” it stated.
Meanwhile, the report also highlights continued challenges in the availability of medicines, with overall drug availability remaining well below the set target of 97%.
“Drug availability stood at 44% during the reporting quarter, down from 53% in the previous quarter,” it states.
On Vital drugs, the report states that they were available at 51%, whilst essential drugs recorded an even lower availability rate of 32%.
Despite the overall decline in medicine availability, the report noted an improvement in the availability of tuberculosis (TB) and antiretroviral (ARV) medicines, which were available during the quarter.
Non-drug supplies were similarly inadequate at 70%, risking quality of service delivery. Increasing the threshold or funding to council may assist in augmenting the CMS supplies.
Meanwhile, the report further indicates that teenage pregnancy remained a challenge as 23 cases were recorded, a higher number than the 19 cases that were recorded in the previous quarter, and one teenager tested positive for HIV.
Whilst 11 teenage mothers were aged 18 years and below.
“In an effort to reduce teenage pregnancies, the department will continue to engage other stakeholders (police, social services, churches, schools, and PTA) to intensify health education and counselling to teenagers,” it states.
However, the report highlighted that seven cases of teenage pregnancies related to defilement were reported.
“They were referred to police and victims provided with psychosocial support and counselling. There were challenges that some parents were reluctant to report cases of defilement but prefer to deal with the issue in the family setting, thus denying the child justice,” it revealed.
However, it also found out that some court cases take a long time to be attended, hence compromising social justice to the victim, and as a result the victim has to relive the trauma all over again when trial begins. “There are no children's courts as envisaged by the Children's Act, hence the cases queue along with other cases and are not prioritised,” it stated.