03 Dec 2018

Ministry of Health and Wellness has forged collaboration with Botswana Defence Force (BDF) on healthcare delivery in the country.

This follows the just ended SADC military health service exercise dubbed ‘Pabalelo’, which contributed immensely to health services in Ngamiland.

The exercise brought together health personnel from the SADC military to be trained on the various medical missions, essential tasks lists including management of ballistic wounds, management of diarrheal diseases and mass control of malaria.

It also included the conduct of command posts, table-top as well as a field training exercise. Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital was used as a practical facility and the military health personnel were engaged in high volume real-life surgical procedures to sharpen their skills.

Giving a word of appreciation during the closing ceremony of the exercise, deputy permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr Morris Sinvula revealed that the exercise was an eye-opener to the health department in appreciating the similarities and potential collaborations that could be harnessed in the military to protect communities during emergencies.  

The exercise, he said, was the beginning of a fruitful relationship between his ministry and the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security as they had already approached the relevant authorities to discuss the issue of collaboration.

During the exercise, 160 patients underwent various operations and Dr Sinvula noted that those patients would have never been able to undergo an operation in the near future due to limited specialist care in the region.

The SADC military health personnel provided ophthalmologist, gynaecologist, general surgeon, orthopaedic surgery and nursing staff.

Dr Sinvula also appreciated that during the exercise, the military services offered other services to the hospital as part of improving the functionality of the facility. 

It was reported that the military personnel facilitated the refurbishment of the ICU, which is now operational with four beds and also assisted in commissioning of the hospital helipad as they did the painting and installation of the windmill.

Dr Sinvula also revealed that the trainee doctors were also attached to the highly skilled officers for experience and mentoring. The exercise provided outreach services where the military camped in various villages and offered preventative and curative services including cervical cancer, cardiovascular risk factor screening, among others.

The total number of patients consulted during the exercise was 2001 in Sehithwa, Kareng, Bodibeng, Makakung, Nxaraga and Komana, while 156 dogs were vaccinated for the control of zoonotic diseases such as rabies and anthrax.

The BDF deputy commander, Maj. Gen. Gotsileene Morake thanked the SADC member states for having made the exercise a success through the contribution of military health personnel, equipment medicines and other resources.

He said it was heartening to note that over the years, there have been increasing numbers of joint military exercises under the auspices of the SADC standby force, citing that ‘we have just come from Malawi where SADC conducted a command post exercise, which recognised the coming into being of the full operational capability of the SADC Brigade.

Maj. Gen. Morake revealed that the biggest challenge for SADC military health services was to be able to take sensitive medical procedures and care out of the comfort zone of purpose-built infrastructure and execute the same procedure in a harsh and hostile military environment, where soldiers fight and execute lifesaving exercises and possibly under fire.

He described the exercise as a commendable collaborative activity that would undoubtedly capacitate SADC military forces to efficiently and effectively execute their tasks of conducting logistical, peace support and other relief operations in a joint and integrated environment. ENDS