Vice President Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe says the nation should remain optimistic that an AIDS-free generation is possible.

Speaking at the National AIDS Council in Gaborone on April 25, he said with a mother to child transmission rate that has dropped from 40 per cent to three per cent and ARV uptake of up to 95 per cent and projected national incidence rate of one per cent in 2011, the nation can be optimistic.

“Such optimism is further cemented by seemingly plummeting infections among the youth,” he said.

02/04/2013 – When unexpected heavy rains recently lashed the usually dry province of Central Botswana, the local Red Cross was the first to respond. Trained disaster management volunteers from the Botswana Red Cross Society (BRCS) swung into immediate action, quickly accessing relief stocks, prepositioned last year in case of disaster.

JOHANNESBURG, 25 March 2013 (IRIN) - South Africa's gold mines are estimated to have the highest number of new tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world, making the disease a leading export to neighbouring countries. IRIN takes a look at the declaration meant to change this situation.

In August 2012, heads of state from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) agreed to sign the SADC Declaration on TB in the Mining Sector, following endorsements by their national ministers for health, labour and justice.

President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama says he will send a team of officials from the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources (MMEWR) to assess the water problems in Tsabong and its surrounding areas.

The decision came after officials from Water Utilities Corporation, Tsabong and Department of Water Affairs (DWA) provided contrasting responses during a kgotla meeting in Tsabong on Thursday.

By Lesego Patricia Agang

GABORONE, Botswana, 5 March 2013 – UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake and President of the UNICEF Executive Board, Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations H.E. Mr. Jarmo Viinanen, are currently in Botswana to attend the global thematic consultation on health in the post-2015 development agenda.

During their visit, they have taken time to engage with young people in Botswana, a country hit hard by HIV/AIDS.

Wise Up

The Japanese Embassy has donated over P800 000 to Kagisano Society Women’s Shelter Project (KSWSP). The money would go towards construction of a new shelter.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Mogoditshane on February 13, Ambassador Hiroyasu Kobayashi of Japan said the project would enable the society to increase their capacity in protecting women by providing a safe haven to 30 more women per year.

He said every individual had a right to be protected from violence as enshrined in the constitution of Botswana.

Government is doing everything possible to assist flood victims, President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama has said.

He said the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development officials would assess all affected villages and families to see how they could be assisted.

President Khama, who visited Chadibe and Borotsi in Tswapong on Saturday, donated food hampers and blankets to victims of recent floods in the two villages.

The food hampers and blankets, worth over P30 000, were donated by the Lady Khama Charitable Trust.

The Ministry of Agriculture has alerted farmers about the outbreak of Quelea birds in some parts of Central, Kweneng, North East and Kgatleng districts.

The ministry says it has started to control the birds, urging the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious cases. Reports can be made to the nearest agricultural extension officers, village leadership or the ministry’s call centre: 17755.

HARARE, 29 January 2013 (IRIN) - Short: Flash floods strike Zimbabwe's dry areas

Flash flooding across Zimbabwe's Masvingo and Matabeleland provinces, normally dry areas, has caused substantial damage to infrastructure. While more than 4,000 people across the country are in need of humanitarian assistance following heavy rains.