Botswana Declares Health Emergency

President Duma Boko has declared a public health emergency after the country’s medical supply chain collapsed.

Causes:
• Depleted government coffers, hit by falling diamond revenues
• US aid cuts, including a third of Botswana’s HIV response
• Medicine prices inflated up to 10× normal costs

Shortages:
• Treatments for hypertension, cancer, diabetes, TB, asthma, mental and sexual health
• Dressings, sutures; elective surgeries postponed

Emergency measures:
• 250m pula ($18.7m) approved for urgent procurement
• Military tasked with distributing medicines, prioritizing rural areas

Context: Botswana, population 2.5m, remains one of the world’s top diamond exporters, but its budget is shrinking. UNICEF warns 1 in 5 children in the west of the country is underweight.

Boko: “The medical supply chain has failed … this is not sustainable.”