22 May 2022

 An important lesson that Botswana has learnt from the impact of COVID-19, is the importance of having in place strategies for ensuring universal health coverage, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has said.
In his historic address to the 75th World Health Assembly, the highest decision making gathering of the 195 member  World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday,  President Masisi said Botswana was committed to improved healthcare and interventions for all.
"Post the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Botswana acknowledges the changing global trends that require strengthening our health systems to achieve universal health coverage as a means of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," President Masisi said.
To this end, Botswana in acknowledging the interconnection between health and development, aligned national strategies to the "Health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development."
These strategies included the eleventh National Development Plan (NDP 11) and draft NDP 12 as well as the National Vision 2036, which underscored the importance of providing healthcare to all.
Dr Masisi said government also partnered with NantWorks to establish a vaccine manufacturing plant in the country, to produce vaccines for COVID-19, cancer treatment and next generation cell-based immunotherapy amongst others.
The President  decried lack of solidarity at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as shown by disproportionate access of resources and vaccines, leading to preventable deaths in middle and low income countries.
Dr Masisi said his government had nonetheless worked hard with a comprehensive COVID-19 response, which included a successful vaccination rollout programme,  likely to surpass the WHO target of a full vaccination rate of 70 percent of the national population by July 2022.
President Masisi further told his audience that Botswana received a Silver Tier Award for the successful national Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS in December 2021, the first high burden developing country to receive the award.
"This achievement came with recommendations from the Global Validation Committee, setting us on course towards a Gold Tier for both HIV and Syphilis by 2024. It should be noted that this is against the backdrop of the country having surpassed the global UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets with 93-97-98 as per our Botswana AIDS Impact Survey of 2021 (BIAS V),"  He said.
Moreover,  Botswana was on the path to eliminating malaria with a low incidence of less that 1 person per 1000 population in the last five years, and that the country had passed anti-tobacco legislation in Parliament aligned to the WHO Global Non-Communicable Disease Action Plan, he said.
"Despite our success, as a middle income country we continue to experience challenges that weigh negatively on our progress. These include limited access to safe medicinal products, research and development and the inability to attract and retain quality skilled health personel, among others," President Masisi said. ENDS