CHOPPIES LAUNCH HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS PROGRAMME
As part of its commitment to the well-being of both its employees and the communities it operates in, Choppies has teamed up with UNAIDS to launch an historic Health and HIV/AIDS programme.
The initiative, which will run across 2024 and 2025, aims to increase awareness and access to health and HIV services for Choppies staff, provide employees with reasonable time off to participate in education and training and empower staff through collaborations with stakeholders, training peer educators and counsellors.
Externally, Choppies plans to join forces with stakeholders to circulate awareness messages through its communication platforms and offer incentives, awards and support to individuals or community groups who contribute to the HIV response.
Speaking at the programme’s official launch in Gaborone on Thursday, 11 April 2024, Choppies Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ramachandran Ottapathu said they recognise the importance of leveraging their resources and influence to address challenges head on.
“We are pleased to declare that many of our employees, particularly young girls and women from rural areas and disadvantaged backgrounds are not only breadwinners but also face multiple socio-economic challenges. Through providing employment and investing in the well-being of our staff, we are not only fulfilling our corporate responsibility but also contributing to broader societal goals. We believe that by empowering individuals and communities, we can create a ripple effect that extends far beyond the walls of our stores,” declared Ottapathu.
Choppies supermarket has a proud history of helping out in the fight against HIV/AIDS, taking part in last year’s World AIDS Day, embracing the commemoration’s ‘Let Communities Lead’ theme by spreading prevention messages.
Botswana has made considerable progress in combating HIV/ AIDS, transitioning from a high burden country to the cusp of epidemic control stage.
Despite this commendable success, many challenges still persist, which require widespread, hands-on participation of multi stakeholders to overcome.
UNAIDS Country Director, Alankar Malviya, was quick to highlight the strides Botswana has made against HIV/AIDS but stressed the war is not won yet.
“Botswana has surpassed the 95-95-95 targets of fighting HIV. Currently sitting at 95-98-98, this has truly shown the world of Botswana’s capabilities to reverse and control the epidemic. It is a matter of choices to invest in the fight against the scourge. From the clinical side we are winning the battle; what is left is the social side of things where there are still inequalities, therefore participation of private sector is crucial and we are thankful to Choppies for taking this social responsibility,” said Malviya, adding the country has been fortunate to benefit from leaders being at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AID, from the times of former President, Festus Mogae to the current regime.
Echoing similar sentiments, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Christine Stegling noted there was still work to be done.
“We have made remarkable progress against HIV, what a darker place we have come from as far as HIV is concerned. The problem that we now face is the thinking that it’s over since we reached targets. HIV remains a public health concern in this country. We acknowledge things like poverty and inequalities, threaten the success we had in AIDS response and our target of ending HIV/AIDS as a public health concern by 2030,” said Stegling, adding that they now have to turn to the private sector for assistance.
With around 100 stores and close to 6, 000 employees across the country, Choppies is perfectly positioned as an ideal platform to be utilized for delivery of HIV/AIDS services to a wider population.