11 Mar 2020

There are currently 1 561 general practitioners registered in Botswana, 724 are Batswana while 731 are expatriates.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Lemogang Kwape said this in response to a question in Parliament on Tuesday.

The ministry, he said, acknowledged difficulty at times of verifying authenticity of some documents of doctors from outside.

However, he noted that Botswana Health Professions Council was in the process of engaging Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates for credential verification for all incoming doctors and those that might have been missed previously. He said the process would be conducted in August.

Selebi Phikwe West MP, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse wanted the minister to state the total number of doctors that are general practitioners, the number of those who are Batswana and expatriates and their nationalities.

Mr Keorapetse had also wanted to know if the minister acknowledged that there were doctors from countries where it was difficult to verify the authenticity of qualifications and what was being done about the issue.ENDS