Gaborone, Botswana – President Duma Boko on Monday declared a public health emergency, citing the collapse of Botswana’s national medical supply chain that has left hospitals and clinics critically short of medicines and essential stock.
In a televised address, Boko said the military would immediately take charge of an emergency distribution effort, with trucks set to leave Gaborone for remote areas by Monday evening.
“The medical supply chain as run by central medical stores has failed,” Boko stated. “This failure has led to a severe disruption to health supplies countrywide.”
The president confirmed that the finance ministry had approved 250 million pula ($17.35 million) in emergency funds to procure vital medicines and supplies.
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The crisis is also linked to a shrinking national budget caused by the ongoing downturn in the global diamond market. Botswana, with a population of 2.5 million, is one of the world’s largest diamond producers. Its vast diamond reserves, discovered just after independence from Britain in 1966, account for around 80 percent of the country’s foreign earnings.
The health ministry revealed earlier this month that it owed 1 billion pula to private health facilities and suppliers, further deepening the crisis.
Among the medicines running out are those for hypertension, cancer, diabetes, tuberculosis, asthma, eye conditions, sexual and reproductive health, and mental health treatment. Shortages of surgical dressings and sutures were also reported.
Boko also alleged that inflated procurement prices and mismanagement in the distribution system had led to “loss, waste, and damage” of supplies.
Botswana’s health sector has been further strained by a reduction in U.S. government funding under President Donald Trump’s administration, which had previously supported medical programs in the country. A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about whether the U.S. cuts directly contributed to the crisis.
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