Organised under the theme: ‘Creating Wealth through a Healthy Workplace’, the forum provided a platform for experts to share skills and thought-provoking insights through presentations and reports.

According to Business Botswana Regional Manager-North, Eileen van der Est, the main aim of the day was to discuss ways to improve working environments in the private sphere and enhancing productivity at the workplace.

Van der Est said as the voice of business driving the private sector’s transformation to lead the diversification of Botswana’s economy, they are happy the health of their members is put at the forefront by BBCA.

“We want to accelerate adoption of hybrid working environment by companies, and also identify gaps or lapses that exist in coordinating government health and wellness initiatives between the public and the private sector ecosystem,” she explained.

Van der Est said the forum further sought to enhance an ecosystem of learning for managers to discuss and share ideas, experiences, and stories about health and wellbeing in the workplace

In his welcome remarks, the City of Francistown Mayor, Godisang Radisigo, commended BBCA for bringing the historic forum to Francistown, which he noted marked the first-of-its-kind post the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Mayor said pandemics such as Covid-19, which stalled a lot of developments and affected many businesses, have taught us that in order for business to continue thriving, the well-being of employees must be at the forefront.

“Employees who are emotionally, physically and mentally healthy, as well as supported by their teams’ leaders and management, have proven to be more productive and less likely to be frequently absent from work,” stressed Radisigo.

He said effective workplace health, like the ones encouraged by BBCA, are critical for improved moral, loyalty, retention and productivity.

During her update on the National Response on HIV/AIDS and Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs), National AIDS & Health Promotion Agency (NAHPA) Acting Chief Research Officer, Stella Keipeile, revealed statistics show a significant improvement in the fight against AIDS.

She, however, pointed out that while this is good news, there is concern over the rise of NCDs.

“ARVs are working and keeping people alive, but these people are now at risk of dying from diabetes, cancer, heart diseases and chronic respiratory illnesses,” warned Keipeile.

She said there was a need to act at individual, family, community and national levels to fight against NCDs.

Giving an overview of the wellness programme in the workplace, BBCA Executive Director, Frank Phatshwane, called for the review of policies and interventions to align them with the national strategy on HIV.

He said, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), every year at least two million workers die due to work related illnesses or injuries.