Botswana declares health emergency
Sharon Mathala | Monday August 25, 2025 12:04
The President further declared that the state-run Central Medical stores (CMS) has failed.
“This failure has led to a severe disruption to health supplies countrywide. Second, your government has taken command of the situation and is addressing the failures and shortcomings systematically to ensure that the situation is addressed both in the short and the long term,” Boko stated.
He further appealed to all people of conscience to invest in the emergency fund for the sake of the people of Botswana. He called on pension funds, insurance companies, medical aid providers, and individuals alike, saying: 'My country is calling you to action.'
'Take up the responsibility and show national solidarity to overcome the problems we are in,” he added.
According to Boko, the purpose of the fund is to facilitate strategic procurement of healthcare supplies to adequately support the public health system's needs.
“To align procurement activities with the Ministry of Health's comprehensive plan to ensure timely delivery of medicines, consumables, hospital machinery, and spare parts,” Boko stated.
This comes after an earlier announcement by the Ministry of Health that patients with chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer, asthma, and eye diseases are amongst the hardest hit, with the ministry confirming a shortage of medication to manage these illnesses.
Basic supplies like dressings, sutures, and sexual and reproductive health commodities are also in dangerously low supply. The ministry had also indicated that surgical operations that cannot be done internally will now be postponed indefinitely. Only emergency and urgent procedures will be prioritised; however, the ministry does not share what criteria will be used to categorise priorities.