ARV attracts people to test for HIV

By BOPA

The availability of anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy at the Scottish Livingstone Hospital and Thamaga Primary Hospital has attracted more people to come forward and test for HIV.

Patrick Manthe, the chairman of the Kweneng District Council, said during the councils full meeting recently that the home based care programme has also seen an increase in the number of patients.

About 178 new ones registered during the first quarter of the year.He said the total number of patients under the home based care was 3 345, 2692 of them AIDS patients. Sixty-two per cent of the AIDS patients were women.

He said the Ministry of Local Government has allocated some posts to the council so that it can have the staff to administer the anti-retroviral therapy and roll it out to more clinics.

Manthe also told the council that the Ministry of Health plans to undertake a national immunisation campaign against measles during the first five days of August this year. The target group is children aged between nine months to 59 months.

On education, the chairman said the new primary school at Tsolamosese, which was to be handed over to the council at the beginning of the second term, is 98 per cent complete.

A double storey block of four classrooms at Sebele Primary School was completed and handed over to the council last April.

Two construction companies have won tenders to install kitchen equipment at Mogoditshane and Sebele primary schools. Manthe said the council has limited capacity, especially in technical and social welfare personnel to implement development projects.

The council leader also said Masiela Trust Fund has agreed to provide shelter to 25 families with orphans throughout the district to the tune of P300 000.

The trust has also disbursed to the Kweneng Multi-Sectoral AIDS Committee P142 000 to build 10 houses, each with a pit latrine.

The Self Help Housing Agency (SHHA) he said could have been introduced to more villages had it not been for shortage of staff.

One hundred and forty-two houses have been completed in Molepolole, Thamaga, Metsimotlhabe, Lentsweletau and Letlhakeng. Manthe said the Molepolole sewerage infrastructure upgrading project has started