Botswana News

The Republic of Botswana and the World Health Organization today announced the designation of the Botswana National HIV Reference Laboratory as a WHO Collaborating Centre of Excellence, in recognition of the laboratory’s excellence in the field of HIV diagnosis and the potential for deeper collaboration with WHO in advancing the health and well-being of people living with HIV.

Botswana conducted a two-round polio supplementary vaccination campaign against the circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus type 2 (cVDPV2) in early 2023. Targeting the entire population of seven years old and below, 360.370 children were vaccinated during the first-round (February 2023), while 359.878 children were vaccinated across the country during the second round of the campaign (March 2023). cVDPV2 is a highly contagious viral disease that primarily affects children. It has plagued communities worldwide for decades.

The need for blood transfusions is constant, with thousands of people in Botswana relying on donated blood for various medical conditions, surgeries, and emergencies. However, the supply of blood often falls short of the demand.  

In continued support to improve Botswana’s emergency preparedness and response plan, WHO is conducting Basic Emergency Care (BEC) training sessions across the country. Developed by WHO in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM), the training targets frontline health providers who manage acute life-threatening conditions with limited resources.

Ministry of Health together with WHO Botswana, commemorated World Malaria Day in Maun on the 12th of May. This event catered to a diverse audience, including local malaria survivors who have received life-saving malaria treatment. To mark this occasion, the event emphasized the need to bolster malaria response across the country, especially in malarious districts such as Bobirwa, Palapye, Mahalapye, and Okavango where cases of malaria continue to be reported. 

The WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti visited Botswana to engage with the country leadership and discuss the organization of the seventy-third session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa (RC73) that will be held in Gaborone from 28 August to 1 September 2023.

“I was unconscious, with severe headache and fever. Three days later, my family and I realized it was malaria after being tested at a nearby health post.” A community member of Mogotho Village from Okavango, one of Botswana’s most malarious districts explained his ordeal at the hands of the disease. “I almost died," he added as he remembered how the disease affected his body.  Aged 77, the man described how he contracted malaria after being bitten by a mosquito outside his home in Okavango District.

The laboratory plays a major role in the diagnosis of disease conditions as well as in monitoring treatment. This also includes early detection of diseases during emergency response to disease outbreaks before spreading into communities. In this critical process, some policies and procedures need to be in place to achieve quality, timely and reliable results to ensure accuracy in diagnosis as well as appropriate patient care and disease management.

Estimated at 43 million in 2010, the population of elderly people in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to reach 67 million by 2025 and 163 million by 2050, according to WHO.
The population of older persons in Botswana is growing and as in most developing countries, the socio-economic development has often not kept pace with the rapid speed of the ageing population.  The proportion of older persons was 6% which was an increase from 5% in 2001 and is projected to be more than 8.5% and 20% in 2021 and 2050, respectively (National Census 2011).