April 5, 2004 - Botswanan Daily News: Peace Corps help in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Botswana

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Botswana: Peace Corps Botswana : The Peace Corps in Botswana: April 5, 2004 - Botswanan Daily News: Peace Corps help in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Botswana

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-178-137.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.178.137) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 5:09 pm: Edit Post

Peace Corps help in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Botswana

Peace Corps help in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Botswana

Peace Corps help in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Botswana

Peace Corps help in the fight against HIV/AIDS

05 April, 2004

MOLEPOLOLE ­ Thirty-eight Peace Corps volunteers, who arrived recently from the United States, have been undergoing orientation in Molepolole after which they would assist in the intervention areas of the generic HIV/AIDS programmes.

Assistant local government minister Gladys Kokorwe said when welcoming the American volunteers that shortage of staff has restrained efforts to deliver optimum and effective services to the infected and the affected.

The intervention areas are programmes such as the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV, home-based care as well as programmes for orphans and other vulnerable children.

Kokorwe said the volunteers will support Botswana in strengthening the co-ordination of the district's response to HIV/AIDS.

She said US assistance to Botswana, through the Peace Corps volunteers, has also benefited the district multi-sectoral response to the HIV/AIDS problem.

The US assistance, she added, has led to more awareness brought about by AIDS fairs; it has assisted the civil society to develop work plans, budget and collection of data for monitoring the district's response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Daniel Kwelagobe, the minister for presidential affairs and public administration who is also the MP for Molepolole, said US Peace Corps volunteers had also assisted Botswana in the education sectors during the early years of independence. The Peace Corps volunteers had also contributed to the development of sport, especially softball.

Kwelagobe said the United States further assists Botswana in trade matters. Botswana's diamonds made it into the US market despite some international campaign against diamonds from Africa. The US market was able to discern Botswana's diamonds-for-development from others that power incessant wars in some African countries.

Joseph Huggins, the US ambassador to Botswana, said after training, the volunteers would tear down the walls of stigma, discrimination and denial associated with HIV.

He said the Peace Corps volunteers were determined to help Botswana fight the deadly AIDS disease. BOPA




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Story Source: Botswanan Daily News

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Botswanan; AIDS; HIV; AIDS Education

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