Botswana declared a public health emergency on Monday after a failure in the national medical supply chain left hospitals and clinics short of medicines and other critical items, President Duma Boko said in a televised address.
Boko said the military would oversee an emergency distribution drive, with the first trucks due to depart the capital for remote districts by Monday evening. “The medical supply chain as run by central medical stores has failed,” he said. “This failure has led to a severe disruption to health supplies countrywide.”
The finance ministry has approved 250 million pula ($17.35 million) in emergency funding to procure medicines and consumables, he added. The health ministry warned in early August that stockouts were looming due to unspecified financial constraints and postponed all non-urgent surgeries as supplies tightened.
In an Aug. 4 statement, the ministry said it owed 1 billion pula to private health facilities and suppliers, compounding the shortage. Medicines for hypertension, cancer, diabetes, tuberculosis, eye conditions, asthma, sexual and reproductive health, and mental health were among those running low, alongside dressings and sutures.
Boko said government purchasing prices were inflated and that existing distribution systems had caused loss, waste and damage. He did not specify how long the emergency measures would remain in place.
Budget pressures have intensified this year amid a prolonged slump in the global diamond market—Botswana is the world’s leading producer by value. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has also cut health-sector support to Botswana. A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about whether the U.S. cuts contributed to the crisis.
No timeline was given for when new supplies would reach facilities, but authorities said the army-led operation would prioritize remote and underserved areas.