12 Oct 2015

The Minister of Health, Ms Dorcas Makgato, is in Germany for the World Health Summit on October 11-17.

A press release from Ministry of Health says during the summit, the minister will make a presentation on universal health coverage.

This will give the minister an opportunity to share the country’s experiences and best practices in implementing Universal Health Care policies.

It says Minister Makgato will also have a bilateral meeting with the Federal Minister of Health on the side-lines of the summit.

The two ministers will discuss possible areas of collaboration between the two countries. This followed a request by Botswana on assistance with medical specialists in the areas of oncology, cardiology, and physician specialists.

According to the release, the Federal Ministry of Health has indicated their interest in collaborating with Botswana and has requested that a team of experts be assembled from both ministries to specifically deal with the technical issues and develop a Memorandum of Understanding.

The minister will also meet with the senior expert service, which is made up of retired experts in various specialized fields. 

In light of the challenges the Ministry of Health faces in various medical specialized fields such as oncology, and cardiology, the senior expert service would present a relief opportunity by sending their experts to Botswana.

The release further states that the minister and her delegation will also have an opportunity to experience first-hand model of governance structure at Charité University Clinic.

“This hospital serves as a teaching hospital and at the same time providing healthcare to the general public. Now that the University Teaching Hospital in Botswana is complete, the Ministry has found it necessary to visit select centers to appreciate the different types of models that are used to run Teaching Hospitals that are open to the public”, says the release.

The minister will receive a minilab testing equipment for fake drugs and medicine donated by Merk Co. She is expected home on October  18. ENDS