Botswana News

Gaborone, Botswana – 11 April 2018: The WHO country team, led by Dr Martins Ovberedjo, the WHO Representative (WR) for Botswana, met Ms Ruth Maphorisa, the new Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW) to brief her and her senior personnel on the upcoming 71st World Health Assembly. The WR also took the opportunity to congratulate Ms Maphorisa on her appointment as the Permanent Secretary in the MoHW.
 

Gaborone, Botswana – 9 April 2018: Honourable Dr Alfred Madigele, the new Minister of Health and Wellness, and Honourable Mr Biggie Butale, the new Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, today received Dr Martins Ovberedjo, the WHO Representative for Botswana, at the Minister’s office.

Gaborone, Botswana - 29 March 2018: The University of Botswana (UB) School of Nursing, which has been a WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Development (WHOCC) since 1990, has been re-designated with expanded terms of reference for another 4 years. The re-designation occurred after a visit by a WHO AFRO/HQ assessment team visited the centre in conjunction with the WHO country office. The team also held discussions with the Ministry of Health and Wellness in terms of the centre’s potential contribution to health and development in Botswana.

Gaborone, Botswana - 09 March 2018: As a key part of the Transformation Agenda of the WHO Regional Office for Africa, country offices are being assessed in relation to their ability to provide the type, quality and level of support in line with the needs and priorities of host countries. Botswana is among the current wave of countries to benefit from the review. A four member multi-disciplinary team has been in Botswana to carry out the review.
 

Serowe, Botswana - 8 February 2018:The Ministry of Lands Management, Water and Sanitation, held a successful two day  annual wellness day hosted by the Serowe Main Landboard Services for all its employees drawn from the fifteen affiliate sub-land boards. This event brought together members of the sub-land boards, including senior executives, engineers, physical planners, and administrative staff members. The 2018 annual events were organized in  selected venues  around Serowe Village.

Gaborone, Botswana - 05 Decemebr 2017: The Ministry of Health and Wellness in collaboration with the Attorney General’s Chambers are training 40 government lawyers on the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the Tobacco Control Bill that is about to go to parliament for debate and approval. The aim of the training is to develop a critical mass of lawyers who understand the basis and significance of the Bill and will expertly advise management of sectors where some of them are attached as legal advisors.

Gaborone, Botswana - 28 November 2017: A capacity building training for the members of the Botswana national EMTCT Validation Committee (NVC) was held in Gaborone from 22-24 November 2017. The committee was appointed by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to help spearhead assessment and compilation of a country report on efforts to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis.

Gaborone, Botswana - 4 December 2017:  A five-day Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of the International Health Regulations (2005) core capacities for Botswana is being conducted from 4-8 December, 2017 at Masa Square Hotel in Gaborone.

Gaborone, BOTSWANA - 24 November 2017: A seven person delegation from Ghana is in Botswana to benchmark on Health Promotion and Health in All Policies. The weeklong visit has seen them engage with the Ministry of Health and Wellness where they learnt about the structure and functions of the Health Promotion and Education Division within the context of the Ministry and in collaboration with other sectors. They also toured a national exhibition of Poverty Eradication projects under the Office of the President.

GABOR0NE, Botswana - 28th October 2017: A comprehensive training of trainers on integrated disease surveillance and response (IDSR) was conducted over a four-day period. Participants included surveillance officers, laboratory staff, clinicians and public health specialists from both the National and District level in Botswana. This workshop follows the adaptation and development of the National IDSR training manual. Both activities were coordinated and implemented by the Ministry of Health with technical and financial support from the WHO Country office.