New community AIDS project launched

Botswana's National AIDS Co-ordinating Council (NACA) launched a new community project to eradicate HIV/AIDS in the country, the 'Mmegi' newspaper reported on Friday. The Total Community Mobilisation (TCM) project, is expected to be implemented across the whole country by the end of the year.

According to the report, the programme divides the country into areas which incorporate a population of around 100,000 people. The programme would seek to intensively treat HIV/AIDS related illnesses through a network of clinics and field offices until the people in the area were in control, the report said. "Thus the TCM Programme is a people's liberation effort, mobilising all the people and forces of one area...to root out the virus," Snorre Westgaard, project co-ordinator, was quoted as saying.

The programme sought to equip communities with a basic knowledge about HIV/AIDS and would help curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in by organising regular meetings, clubs, rallies, courses, sport activities, cultural events and entertainment the report said. Pregnant women would also be instructed and followed throughout their pregnancy in order to help prevent mother-to-child-transmission(MTCT) of the virus. HIV/AIDS orphans would also be registered and followed through orphan programmes, the report added.