26 Jul 2020

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is committed to achieving the global strategy for women, children and adolescents in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

That was said by permanent secretary in the health and wellness ministry, Mr Kabelo Ebineng, when briefing the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recently.

The global strategy (2016-2030) is a roadmap to achieve right to the highest attainable standard of health for all women, children and adolescents to transform the future and ensure every newborn, mother and child not only survived, but thrived. The strategy builds on the success of the 2010 strategy and its Every Woman Every Child movement as a platform to accelerate the health-related Millennium Development Goals and puts women, children and adolescents at the heart of the new UN SDGs.

However, Mr Ebineng told the PAC that particular focus would be placed on child health issues, following the increase in mortality rate of children under five years from 28 000 in 2011 to 56 000 in a period of seven years. He also noted that infant mortality also increased from 17 000 live births to 38 000 in the same period. 

Mr Ebineng said the ministry was also concerned about malnutrition among children and would ensure that supplementary feeding and other means that would help deal with it were managed.

“We are aware that supplementary nourishing food like Tsabana sometimes does not reach its intended target. However the ministry will introduce targeted programmes to address malnutrition because we have realised that it contributes to child mortality,” he said.

On other issues, health services director, Dr Malaki Tshipayagae told the PAC that Botswana had 662 confirmed COVID-19 positive cases, out of which 112 were citizens and residents while 551 cases were foreigners recorded at points of entry.

Dr Tshipayagae also indicated that they currently conducted an average of 1 000 tests per day, adding ‘however, the laboratory has a capacity to test up to 10 000 tests per day but we are limited by shortage of test kits. To date, over 61 000 tests have been conducted.”

He also indicated that the ministry had thus far spent over P260 million on COVID-19, of which the bulk was spent on, among others quarantine, laboratory testing, medical equipment, security, disinfections, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and staff welfare.

He also noted that the ministry had received a donation of 20 000 testing kits while 600 000 were bought from China and France. Ends