Social Workers and Chaplains crucial in schools

ONALENNA KELEBEILE
Staff Writer | Thursday March 21, 2013 00:00

The analysis was conducted by the Botswana Confederation Of Non-Government Organisation (BOCONGO) last Wednesday in Selebi Phikwe.BOCONGO organized the meeting to appreciate to what extent the national budget addresses the needs of the marginalized members of the society.

A Selebi-Phikwe resident, Thobane Morake, said the challenge that the country is faced with is that of the young generation born in the era of HIV/AIDS. This generation, he said, does not know a world without HIV/AIDS.Morake observed that as a result of this circumstance, talking of prevention and cure does not resonate with them. 'It is now very unfortunate that due to budget constraints, the ministry cannot afford to permanently employ social workers and chaplains,' he added.

He added that the national budget allocation should put an emphasis on good health for citizens.'I appreciate that government has ensured that a good number of children access basic education. But does this achieve intended objectives if they are exposed to challenges that put their lives at risks? Thus the need for social workers and chaplains in schools is crucial because youth have never seen an HIV/AIDS free world in their entire lives,' he stressed. Morake expressed concern that services of programmes like Community Home Based Care are slowly declining because international donors funded the majority of them and government cannot takeover funding when international organizations cease their sponsorship.

'Government should try her best to maintain such programmes,' he noted. He appreciated the fact that the Ministry of Health was allocated the third largest share of the budget. Morake expressed fear that it may not be easy for government to sustain free ARV supply because the cost of treatment continues to go up while the economic downturn continues to affect the national purse.'Prevalence and incidence rate are still high, then what are we doing if there are threats that sustaining supply of ARV by government would not be possible in the near future'

'The budget is so limited that government cannot even afford to increase nurses in health facilities,' he noted.  He was also worried about the mushrooming of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that later on collapse upon dry spell of donor funding. He said NGOs tend to neglect their core mandate and run to specifications of the donor ending up having all of them doing the same thing. 'Lack of monitoring of NGOs put people's health at risk,' he added.Morake is an employee of Tebelopele but expressed views in his personal capacity as a member of the community.