Dr Stella Tawana, who is the chairperson of the Sports Science and Medicine Commission of the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC), was the leader of the medical team. “I am a private practice provider at Premier Care Health Centre, based in Gaborone. I am registered as an Occupational Medicine Specialist, which deals with employee health, and this is inclusive of elite athletes. I also hold a Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Medicine,” she said. Tawana explained that her journey with sports started 20 years ago as a volunteer. She has been part of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for major events such as the Africa Youth Games (AYG) 2014, the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport 2018 and Region V 2018 amongst others. “I have travelled with Team Botswana to various regional and international competitions as the team doctor and head of medical team, the most recent one being the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” she said. Sports medicine is a broad branch that includes doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, exercise physiologists, nutritionists, psychologists, and chiropractors amongst others. “The aim of sports medicine is to prevent injuries, and if they were to occur, to manage and rehabilitate an athlete within a very short time to their pre-injury state.
Therefore, these professionals work with coaches to develop a training programme for athletes to reach their potential,” she said. Tawana said the medical team's job is not just to treat injuries at the games but also to prevent them. She said the team is trained in anti-doping processes and will, therefore, give athletes the correct medicines and supplements that are not prohibited in sports. “At competitions, it is the doctor’s responsibility to decide whether an athlete can be withdrawn on medical grounds. It is then important to always travel with our own sports medicine professionals who can make the right decisions for our athletes,” Tawana said. She said there is currently one sports medicine physician in Botswana, and less than five doctors formally trained in sports medicine. “They are mostly based in Gaborone and (that is) not enough. Therefore, accessibility is very limited as most are in private practice. Most of our athletes who require these services do not have medical aid, except for a few with sport sponsorships. They only get an opportunity to consult before competitions. We do at times provide free service to these athletes, but it is not sustainable, as they may require other tests such as X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, which are very expensive,” she said. She added that the right diet is also important in sports medicine to build strength.
