Resource constraints delay health facility developments
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Wednesday December 17, 2025 06:00
In her remarks during the Rakops Primary Hospital refurbished theatre handover, Basinyi stated that to overcome the challenges, there is a need for partnerships and collaborations, as the Government alone cannot deliver the much-needed services.
Therefore, she elaborated that she was excited to witness the demonstration of this partnership through the handover of the refurbished hospital theatre sponsored by Debswana Orapa, Letlhakane, and Damtshaa Mines (OLDM) and its stakeholders through the General Manager’s (GM) Charity Walk.
'You may be aware that our Ministry is responsible for providing quality, affordable, and preventative health services to the nation, and we recognise that we can deliver on this mandate with the support of organisations such as Debswana, as they provide money, resources, and facilities to enable our communities to have access to medical care,' she continued.
Basinyi also said that they have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Debswana, signed in 2023, where they have partnered to improve the health status of communities in the Debswana mines areas of influence, amongst Boteti, Southern, and Kweneng Districts through a programme dubbed Botsogo Teemane.
She mentioned that the partnership focuses on six focus areas: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 2: Malnutrition; Goal 3.1: Maternal Mortality; Goal 3.3: Infectious Diseases; Goal 3.4: Non-Communicable Diseases; Goal 3.5: Substance Abuse; and Goal 3.8: Universal Health.
She stated that the functional theatre facility will enable healthcare professionals to perform surgeries safely and efficiently.
Basinyi elaborated that patients will no longer need to be referred to other hospitals, reducing travel time and costs for the Government. This will bring convenience to patients, as they will no longer need to travel long distances for surgical procedures. Patients will receive timely treatment, reducing the risk of complications and improving overall health outcomes, she added.
She also highlighted that the Government has taken a bold step and resolved to ensure that Batswana can access quality health services when they need them, without financial hardships, through Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
She stated that President Duma Gideon Boko indicated in the recent State of the Nation Address that in the quest to reach the true North for Botswana in Health, as enshrined in both the National Development Plan 12 and the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme, the goal is to raise the UHC Index from 55 to 75 in the next five years.
This involves major re-engineering of the whole health system, including reforms such as the digitisation of the health system, re-orientation of health services towards a more robust Primary Health system, which they have already started by relocating primary healthcare services to local authorities.
'The goal number two is introducing a sustainable health financing scheme, the National Health Insurance, which will be co-created with Batswana,' she added.