Botswana - August 2025

On 25 August, President Duma Boko declared a state of public health emergency in Botswana, after supply chain failures left the country critically short of medicines and other medical supplies. Earlier in the month, the Ministry of Health had announced it had suspended elective and non-urgent surgeries and warned that there were shortages of medicines to treat a variety of conditions, including hypertension, diabetes and cancer, as well as supplies such as bandages and sutures. Boko attributed the supply chain collapse to rising drug prices and inefficiencies within the national distribution system. In response to the crisis, he announced a BWP 250 million (approximately USD 17.35 million) emergency fund for medicines that were to be distributed with military oversight. The United Nations is also providing support. 

Sources: British Broadcasting Corporation, The Guardian, The Botswana Gazette