Botswana declares health emergency over medicine shortage

Botswana's President Duma Boko declared a public health emergency on Monday, saying the national medical supply chain had failed, leaving hospitals and clinics short of medicine and other vital stock.

Boko said the military would oversee an emergency distribution drive, and the first trucks would leave the capital Gaborone and head to remote areas by the evening.

The southern African country's health ministry warned in early August it was running out of medicines and supplies due to unspecified financial challenges, and postponed all non-urgent surgery.

"The medical supply chain as run by the central medical stores has failed," Boko said in a televised address. "This failure has led to a severe disruption to health supplies countrywide."

Emergency funding

The finance ministry had approved 250 million pula ($17.35 million) in emergency funding for procurement, he added.

Botswana's budget has been constrained this year due to a prolonged downturn in the global diamond market - it is the world's leading producer of diamonds by value.