Africa-Press – Botswana. Ministry of Health has initiated several actions to stabilise the public healthcare system, which is grappling with a critical shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies, says Minister Dr Stephen Modise.
When delivering a statement in Parliament on the state of medicine and other medical supplies in public health facilities yesterday, Dr Modise said they would engage with the Minister of Finance and the Vice President for immediate fiscal interventions, reallocation of funds from non-life saving accounts to critical services.
He also said they would discuss with external partners and funders for emergency assistance as well as use of UN procurement platforms such as UNICEF and the Global Drug Facility to source medicines at a reduced cost.
Dr Modise appealed to Parliament and the public for understanding and trust, reiterating that efforts were ongoing to restore full functionality of the healthcare system.
“We are working round the clock to improve financial management, secure outstanding payments and strengthen supply chain resilience, this will definitely come to pass.” Dr Modise affirmed.
The minister revealed that government health facilities were struggling to offer comprehensive medical services due to a shortage of medical commodities and overwhelming financial obligations.
“The Ministry of Health is currently not able to offer all comprehensive health services that it should under normal circumstances,” he said.
The crisis, Dr Modise explained, had been largely driven by outstanding financial obligations exceeding P1 billion, owed to suppliers and private health facilities, saying those debts had crippled the ministry’s ability to procure essential drugs and medical supplies in both sufficient quantity and time.
“The ministry owes P433 039 793.62 for services outsourced to private hospitals, a measure necessitated by the lack of specialised care such as ICU beds and dialysis machines in public facilities,” Dr Modise said.
He said among the private institutions owed were Bokamoso Private Hospital, Gaborone Private Hospital, Sidilega, Francistown Academic Hospital, Riverside and the Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital.
Dr Modise further said despite efforts to limit outsourcing to only critical, life-saving treatments since last year, the financial burden remained immense.
He explained that government spent an average of P300 million annually on outsourced ICU services and P156 million on dialysis treatments, putting unsustainable pressure on the allocated budget.
The minister said in the 2025/2026 financial year, the ministry was given P254 million for medical fees, but these funds had already been used to settle previous debts, leaving nothing for ongoing care needs.
Dr Modise confirmed that the shortage affected a wide array of essential medicines and supplies used to treat among them, hypertension, diabetes, eye conditions, asthma, sexual and reproductive health, cancer, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and mental health.
He further pointed out that consumables like sutures and dressings were also in short supply.
As a result of the funding crisis, Dr Modise also announced the temporary suspension of all referrals for elective and non-urgent procedures to private facilities.
He said that included joint replacements, prosthetic eye insertions, organ transplants and other non-life-threatening surgeries.
Dr Modise further said the Chronic Medicines Dispensing Programme, which allowed patients with chronic conditions to collect medication from private pharmacies, had also been suspended.
He advised patients to visit their nearest public facility for chronic care support.
“These measures, although regrettable, are necessary to manage our constrained resources prudently,” said Dr Modise, emphasising that it was a temporary situation.
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