No medicine, no operations, public health system in freefall :: Mmegi Online

Botswana’s public health sector is on the edge of collapse. The Ministry of Health (MoH) yesterday issued a chilling statement confirming what many already suspected and voiced through social media, that the country is under a national health emergency.

In an unusually frank statement released Monday afternoon, the Ministry painted a grim picture of the country’s deteriorating health services, severe medicine shortages, postponed surgical procedures, and a staggering debt amounting to billions owed to private medical suppliers and facilities.

"Due to the ongoing financial challenges facing the country, which have left the country’s medicines and medical commodities situation severely strained, the Ministry has had to streamline some health services and prioritise saving lives over everything else,” the statement reads in part.

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