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Botswana has declared a public health emergency as the country struggles with severe shortages of essential medicines and medical supplies.
President Duma Boko announced the measure in a televised address on Monday, unveiling a multimillion-pula plan to stabilise the supply chain under military supervision.
“Managing these shortages will be highly price sensitive due to our limited coffers,” he told the nation, while confirming that the finance ministry had approved 250 million pula (£13.8m, $18.3m) in emergency funding.
The crisis comes as Botswana faces economic pressures from a slump in the global diamond market — its key source of revenue — and cuts in US aid. Rising unemployment and poverty have further strained the country of 2.5 million people.
The Ministry of Health has warned of “significant challenges”, including debts of more than 1 billion pula (£55.2m), largely due to patients being treated in private hospitals for services unavailable in public facilities. Shortages include cancer drugs, HIV treatments, and tuberculosis medicines.
Health Minister Dr Stephen Modise also announced the suspension of elective surgeries and other non-urgent procedures, including organ transplants. He nevertheless expressed optimism, saying: “I have no doubt that soon, very soon, we will overcome. This is definitely not insurmountable.”
To ease the crisis, the military began distributing supplies on Monday, with trucks leaving the capital Gaborone for remote areas.
Unicef has urged “urgent action” to protect the health and future of Botswana’s children, warning that malnutrition remains a daily challenge in towns such as D’Kar. “The president’s call underscores what we witness on the ground,” the agency said.
President Boko, a 55-year-old Harvard-trained lawyer, came to power last year after his Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) ended the ruling party’s 58-year grip on power. He has pledged to diversify Botswana’s economy, long seen as overly dependent on diamonds.
