We demand answers and medicine
Mmegi Editor | Monday October 20, 2025 06:00
Yet, two months later, Botswana’s health facilities remain empty, Batswana continue to suffer, while those elected to lead have fallen into a silence that is as deafening as it is deadly.
The electorate is tired of political drama and demand supply of critical medications that were promised by the Head of State. The declaration, made by the President who promised to put human rights first, was supposed to be a turning point following neglect by the past administration. Boko himself announced a P250 million emergency fund and tasked the military with overseeing the distribution of essential supplies.
He rightly diagnosed the problem being a medical supply chain in collapse, with drug prices inflated five to 10 times due to a dysfunctional procurement system. Yet, observations have been made that this emergency decree has become a hollow gesture. Shortages of critical drugs, including those for HIV and condoms, as well as medical supplies for operations persist nationwide. What was the purpose of this emergency if it fixed nothing? The crisis is not just about unavailable medicines, rather a profound lack of accountability.
President Boko was accused of having declared this emergency without engaging Parliament, effectively clipping the legislative wing’s power to provide oversight. This is not how a democracy functions.
As a direct result, both the public and their elected representatives are now “swimming in a pool of darkness,” with no clarity on whether the state of emergency is even still in effect or what the emergency task force has achieved.
The government’s failure to share information is as much a failure of its duty as its failure to deliver supplies. The public is told the root causes are complex, being a three-year downturn in the diamond market, which accounts for a third of government revenue, and severe cuts to US aid that once funded a third of Botswana’s HIV response. These are serious challenges, but they cannot become excuses for inaction. The Ministry of Health owes P1 billion to private facilities and suppliers, crippling the entire system.
While the President blames a corrupt and inefficient procurement body, the Central Medical Stores (CMS), his government must now be judged on its ability to fix it. A declaration alone does not constitute a solution. Therefore, we add our voice to the call by the nation. We demand President Boko and the Ministry of Health to break their silences and provide a clear and public account of how the P250 million emergency fund has been spent and which facilities have received supplies. There is need for a detailed timeline for when the drug shortages, particularly for ARVs and other chronic condition drugs, will be permanently resolved.
Batswana are dying from avoidable situations. The state of public health emergency must be more than a headline, but it must also be a catalyst for action that is felt in every clinic, hospital and home.
“Time and health are two precious assets that we don’t recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted.”– Denis Waitley