Botswana News

On the occasion of the 75th session of the World Health Assembly (taking place in Geneva between 22-28 May 2022), His Excellency Dr Mokgweetsi E.K. Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana shared Botswana’s health trajectory, particularly in the midst of country’s efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gaborone, 28 April 2022 – Pandemic-related disruptions, increasing inequalities in access to vaccines, and the COVID-19-related diversion of resources from routine immunization are leaving too many children without protection against vaccine-preventable diseases. As Botswana joins the world in celebrating World Immunization Week and the historic achievements through vaccines, the country needs to urgently turn the spotlight to routine immunization against common childhood diseases, such as measles.

Each year, more than 100 health emergencies occur in the African Region, including infectious disease outbreaks including cholera, yellow fever, meningitis, measles, Ebola, and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of these emergencies are preventable and controllable with proven public health interventions. 

There is a need for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to adopt healthy lifestyles to address the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) that Botswana and all the countries in the region face. 

Following the first

The World Health Organization (WHO) in Botswana and the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW) commemorated the World Patient Safety Day 2021  "Safe maternal and newborn care" by organizing activities in Maun, which, with a population of 55,784 people is the fifth-largest town in the country.

While international transport, travel, and trade contribute to the economic development and welfare of populations, they may also pose public health risks. Today’s high traffic at airports, ports and ground crossings plays a key role in the international spread of diseases through persons, conveyances and goods. 

Botswana is taking steps towards the elimination of intestinal worm infections or soil-transmitted helminths in school-going children. Between 12 and 18  September, technical WHO staff supported the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW) in Botswana to complete a survey in the Chobe District, for the mid-term evaluation on the impact of the mass drug administration (MDA) on Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH). This was one of the nine districts that were carrying out the survey that included a total of 60 schools.