28 Nov 2021

The development of the first national nursing and midwifery strategy and implementation plan for Botswana, will transform and re-focus the nursing and midwifery in Botswana. Officially launching the first ever National Nursing and Midwifery Strategy for Botswana, in Gaborone recently, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Edwin Dikoloti said the ultimate goal of the strategy was to ensure that Batswana received optimal health care. 

Dr Dikoloti said the strategy would accord the ministry and the nursing and midwifery fraternity an opportunity to setup a road map, which identified achievements, challenges and opportunities for health care direction in Botswana, from the point of view of the fraternity. 

He further pointed out that the strategy would provide inclusive and participatory evidence-based interventions, which were not only relevant to their clients, but also in sync with modern day nursing and health care in general. Furthermore, he stated that the new strategic document was grounded on other national, regional and international frameworks that the government of Botswana had ratified and adopted, particularly, the Astana Declaration on Primary Health Care of 2018, and various World Health Assembly (WHA) declarations that spoke to the strengthening of nursing and midwifery professions. 

The minister also emphasised that, as the world shifted towards revitalising Primary Health Care, “the role of nurses and midwives in this endeavour is even more paramount as they are often the first level of contact at the point of entry to health care services” he said. He said through the strategic document, nurses and midwives would continue to play a pivotal role of engaging all stakeholders in making strategic decisions in the health sector for the socio-economic development and welfare of all citizens. 

He further highlighted that the implementation of the strategic document would not just strengthen the visibility and contribution of nursing and midwifery to Batswana, but would also ensure the achievement of other national health strategies such as the Universal Health Coverage (UHC), Sustainable Development Goals, the Non Communicable Disease Strategy, and Integrated Management of Health Services, adding that ultimately, the goal would ensure that residents of Botswana achieved optimal health.

 Dr Dikoloti observed the launch of the strategy document targeted the 2021 to 2025 period, to assist countries to ensure that nurses and midwives optimally contributed to the achievement of UHC and the United Nations Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs), especially goal number three, which he noted called for access to quality health by all peoples of the world by the year 2030. 

The minister expressed gratitude to all nurses and midwives, for having sacrificed their personal lives, in order to save the lives of all Batswana and residents from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I wish to mention that nurses and midwives in Botswana and globally, were celebrated more than ever before during the year 2020, as they fought the COVID-19 battle alongside other health care workers, with great dedication and unmatched resilience” he said.

 Dr Dikoloti pledged that his ministry would do all in its power to ensure that the strategy implementation plan became a success, adding that particular attention would be given to key strategic activities that would “evidently and swiftly” improve service delivery coordination, improve staff morale and correct operational deficiencies, such as the proposed nursing and midwifery structure. 

For her part, World Health Organisation representative to Botswana, Dr Josephine Namboze said the implementation of the strategy had come at a critical time for Botswana as disease complexities continued to increase globally. 

Dr Namboze said the strategy would therefore help to empower nurses to maximise their potential and ensure quality primary health care. 

Meanwhile, she hailed Botswana nurses as the best s in the entire African region. The historic launch was also attended, regional and international health sector representatives, among them nursing leadership from both government and private sector. ends