The president, Duma Boko, said in a televised address on Monday night that the country\u2019s medical supply chain had failed, as he announced 250m pula (\u00a313.8m) in funding for emergency medicines, the distribution of which would be overseen by the military.<\/p>\n
Boko blamed the state procurement agency Central Medical Stores (CMS), which he said in turn blamed intermediaries, for ratcheting up drug prices in the southern African country, which has a population of about 2.5 million and is the world\u2019s largest diamond producer by value.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe current prices often are inflated five to 10 times. And under the current economic conditions, this scenario is not sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boko, who defeated the party that had been in power for six decades in elections last October, said the CMS had quoted 705m pula for a year\u2019s worth of the medicines that Botswana needed. Meanwhile, a new emergency taskforce received a quote of less than 80m pula.<\/p>\n
Thabo Lucas Seleke, a University of Botswana lecturer, said the CMS was plagued by dysfunction, inertia, unmet reform pledges and corruption allegations, adding: \u201cThere have been yearly reports from the auditor general, which \u2026 flagged incomplete procurement records, missing contracts and recurrent delivery delays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also feeding into the problem is the dire state of Botswana\u2019s economy and public finances, which contributed to Boko\u2019s victory last year. There is no end in sight for the three-year downturn in the price of diamonds<\/a>, which in 2024 accounted for about a quarter of Botswana\u2019s GDP, one-third of government revenues and 80% of exports, according to the International Monetary Fund<\/a>. The economy shrank by an estimated<\/a> 3% in 2024.<\/p>\n Zo\u00eb McCathie, an analyst at the consultancy Signal Risk, said: \u201cThe diamond downturn has been a lot more sustained than diamond mining companies and the state itself had initially predicted. As a result, the state was not as prepared for this as it could have been.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ministry of Health, in its 4 August statement, said it owed 1bn pula to \u201cprivate health facilities and supplies, amongst others\u201d.<\/p>\n Botswana is a world leader in tackling HIV\/Aids<\/a>. In 2000, one in eight children were born with HIV. In 2023, it was fewer than 100<\/a>. Earlier this year, it became the first country with a high HIV-positive population to be awarded the World Health Organization\u2019s gold-tier status for eliminating mother-to-child \u2013 or \u201cvertical\u201d \u2013 HIV transmission as a public health threat<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, while Botswana buys its own antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV, it has also been hit by US aid cuts announced in January. Before the cuts, the US funded about one-third of the country\u2019s HIV response, according to UNAids<\/a> \u2013 $55m (\u00a341m) annually from the US president\u2019s emergency plan for Aids relief (Pepfar) and $12m via the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Some, but not all, global Pepfar funding has since been restored.<\/p>\n Quick GuideContact us about this storyShow The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.<\/p>\n If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Select \u2018Secure Messaging\u2019. <\/p>\n SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post<\/p>\n If you can safely use the tor network without being observed or monitored you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1756359672_114_4000.jpg\")
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