Gaborone, Botswana - Eight Southern African countries – Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe are joining forces to prevent, detect and respond to disease outbreaks before they spread to communities.
Botswana reaches a significant milestone in fostering the multi-sectoral collaboration to strengthen the One Health approach for health security and resilience.
Gaborone, Botswana – The Ministry of Health (MoH), supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), launched a critical two-week mission in September 2025 to evaluate Botswana's health security capabilities at its key Points of Entry (POEs).
The Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority (BoMRA) successfully concluded a five-day assisted self-benchmarking exercise from 11 to 15 August 2025, with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO). The assessment, conducted using the WHO Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT), reviewed all regulatory functions to guide BoMRA’s journey toward achieving WHO Maturity Level 3 (ML3), the global standard for an integrated, fully functional pharmaceutical regulatory system.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently presented a report to the Minister of Health Dr Stephen Modise, following a week-long assessment of the country’s National Blood Transfusion Services (NBTS), conducted between 7 and 11 July 2025. The mission aimed to identify gaps and recommend actions to strengthen the safety, coordination, and sustainability of blood services.
In an expression of strengthened partnership and renewed commitment to multilateralism, the WHO Botswana Country Office recently hosted two high-level courtesy calls from newly appointed UN leaders, Ms. Wenyan Yang, the UN Resident Coordinator in Botswana, and Ms. Nthisana Motsete-Phillips, Botswana’s incoming Permanent Representative to Switzerland and the United Nations in Geneva.
In a continued effort to reduce the burden of cervical cancer, the Ministry of Health, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other key partners has launched a national training initiative aimed at strengthening the capacity of both doctors and nurses in the screening and treatment of pre-cancerous cervical lesions.
Botswana joined the global community in commemorating World Food Safety Day 2025, with the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) calling for urgent action to strengthen food safety systems, guided by science and coordinated regulation.
Africa CDC Regional Director Dr. Lul Riek and his team recently paid a courtesy call to the WHO Botswana Country Office to explore areas of collaboration and discuss key priorities in Botswana’s health system. The visit reaffirmed the shared commitment of both institutions to strengthening National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) and enhancing coordination in public health responses across the continent.
President Duma Boko has acknowledged the urgent need to overhaul Botswana’s health systems, citing inefficiencies and delayed responsiveness that continue to cost lives. He was speaking during a high-level engagement with Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, former WHO Regional Director for Africa, who was accompanied by the WHO Representative to Botswana, Dr. Fabian Ndenzako and other officers from the WHO country office.
