The rise and fall of civil society in Botswana (Part 2)
Friday, March 10, 2023 | 800 Views |
Yesteryear: An old banner on the ABCs of HIV and AIDS. The disease continues to be a public health challenge
Their efforts were centred on combating HIV/AIDS misinformation and discrimination, years back when treatment was yet to be discovered.
Special mention must go to the then AIDS/STD Unit under the Ministry of Health that back then supported the ideas of the likes of David Ngele, Helen Ditsebe-Mhone, and Dipuo Bogatsu to form a support group for People Living with HIV (PLHIV). Overtime, Ngele would become the Chairperson of BONEPWA+ and later its National Coordinator, while Ditsebe-Mhone would then form an NGO, first as a support group, which in turn would become The Coping Centre for People Living with HIV and AIDS (COCEPWA).
It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...