Cultural rites can be a panacea when the immense social capital embedded in them is taken stock of as well as they can be a perfidy when all the retrogressive aspects they constitute are taken into consideration. The aim and objective of this article is to generate debate and discourse on panacea and perfidy of cultural rites with particular focus on circumcision. The article used eclectic data sources. Cultural rite of circumcision is a panacea due to an array of factors: it marks entry into adulthood from childhood; it is a mark of cultural social identity in many societies of the world; it constitutes immense social capital and, currently, it serves as a platform for mitigating the effects of HIV/AIDS. Cultural rite of circumcision is also a perfidy due to: its violation of human rights to health; because it undermines boys’ and girls’ access to school; and because it is usually a leeway to early sexual overtures. The paper recommends to governments to: hold on their responsibilities to safeguard their citizens’ rights to health; ensure that male circumcision is surgically safe and done in a hygienic environment; and, alongside NGOs and civil society, educate communities to balance between the human rights pertaining to circumcision and cultural rights.

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The aim and of this article is to discuss the panacea and perfidy of cultures as a platform

HIV/AIDS has been found to be a challenging disease to humanity, its challenge spin-offs falling especially on to the caregivers of those infected and affected by the virus. This paper aims to discuss the challenges influencing the state of caregiving in the Kanye community home-based care (CHBC) programme in Botswana. The study was qualitative in design and explorative in nature, involving 82 primary caregivers in focus group discussions, and 5 CHBC nurses in individual interviews. Caregivers were found challenged by lack of community networks support, inadequate sanitary and care packages, poor shelter compromising privacy, inadequate income and food for their clients, inadequate care motivation as their volunteerism does not attract any payment, inadequate health personnel to offer psychosocial support like counselling, and an unconducive caring environment generally. Putting in place policies to redress caregivers' poverty, helping caregivers start income-generating projects, increasing community assistance and caregiving facilities are recommended as factors to address caregiver challenges.

Background: It remains an incontrovertible fact that the phenomenon of HIV/AIDS has not only posed major health and development challenges, but is also a stressor experienced at local, regional and global levels. This article explores the stressrelated challenges facing volunteer palliative caregivers in the Kanye community home-based care (CHBC) programme. Methods:The study was explorative in nature and qualitative in design, and used convenience sampling methodologies to involve 82 registered primary caregivers and the five CHBC nurses in the programme as research participants. Participant observation was also used.Results: The study found the following aspects inherent in care giving to be immensely stressful and challenging:• Heavy caseload of the caregivers;• Ageing of the caregivers;• Stigma and discrimination abound in care giving;• Conflict between caregivers and clients;• Poor state of referral networks;• Inadequate care packages;• Poverty of the caregivers themselves; and • Inadequate food, psychological support and community support networks. Conclusion:The study recommends that putting in place a favourable working atmosphere and environment to address the stresses and stressors of care giving would be pivotal to improve this occupation.Peer reviewed.

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This study examines clinical waste disposal and handling in the context of a community home-based care (CHBC) programme in Kanye, southern Botswana. This qualitative study involved 10 focus group discussions with a total of 82 HIV/AIDS primary caregivers in Kanye, one-to-one interviews with the five nurses supervising the programme, and participant observation. Numerous aspects of clinical or healthcare waste management were found to be hazardous and challenging to the home-based caregivers in the Kanye CHBC programme, namely: lack of any clear policies for clinical waste management; unhygienic waste handling and disposal by home-based caregivers, including burning and burying the healthcare wastes, and the absence of pre-treatment methods; inadequate transportation facilities to ferry the waste to clinics and then to appropriate disposal sites; stigma and discrimination associated with the physical removal of clinical waste from homes or clinics; poor storage of the healthcare waste at clinics; lack of incinerators for burning clinical waste; and a high risk of contagion to individuals and the environment at all stages of managing the clinical waste.

Nyaope is a potent drug that is currently challenging South Africa; its ramifications have destroyed the country’s youth. The study described in this paper sought to explore the dangers associated with the consumption of Nyaope in Butterworth, South Africa. This study adopted an explorative and descriptive qualitative approach that involved the facilitation of focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews with twenty-six participants. An analysis of the findings of the study revealed the health hazards associated with consuming Nyaope and the tendency of Nyaope consumption to induce hallucinations and delusions in young people. Moreover, the study showed that Nyaope stimulated mood swings among female adolescents, its consumption created a fertile ground for conflict, and the addiction to Nyaope led to the destruction of the future of female adolescents. The researchers recommend the application of multiple approaches to preventing the initiation of Nyaope consumption. These approaches include attempts to control the peddling of Nyaope in schools and communities as well as the introduction of pro-active educational interventions regarding the dangers of Nyaope on the part of relevant institutions and government.