Botswana declared a public health emergency on Aug 25 (2025) after hospitals ran out of essential medicines due to depleted government coffers and steep cuts in US aid.
President Duma Boko said in a televised address on Aug 25 (2025) that the country’s medical supply chain had failed and announced 250 million pula (RM78.4mil) in emergency funding to restock clinics and hospitals.
“The current prices [for medicine] often are inflated five to ten times.
“And under the current economic conditions, this scenario is not sustainable.
“We are taking bold steps to ensure that never again will Botswana suffer due to broken systems,” he said, adding that the military would oversee drug distribution.
Earlier in August (2025), Botswana’s health ministry warned that the system was “severely strained” with one billion pula (RM313mil) owed to private health facilities and suppliers.
It cited shortages of medicines for high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, tuberculosis, asthma, mental and sexual health, and stated that elective surgeries were postponed.
Botswana’s vast diamond reserves, discovered just after independence from Britain in 1966, make up about 80% of the country’s foreign earnings.
But sales have weakened in recent years, pushing a cash-strapped government to suspend certain ministerial purchases last month.
Sweeping cuts in American aid under US President Donald Trump have further strained the economy.
Before the cuts, the United States funded a third of Botswana’s HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) response, according to UNAIDS, and provided US$12mil (RM51mil) through the Global Fund to fight malaria and tuberculosis. – AFP
