Sex work, HIV cases climb after BCL�s fall

SELEBI-PHIKWE: The first case of HIV/AIDS was discovered here in the mid-1980s and from then, the copper and nickel mining town has been the epicentre of the epidemic.

Various interventions by Government, Non-Governmental Organsations (NGOs) and corporates have reined in the prevalence and incidence rates to some extent. However, the closure of BCL Mine last October snatched the economic rug from under the feet of the  town’s residents, some of whom have resorted to the oldest profession.