02 Feb 2026

President Advocate Duma Boko says government is taking firm and deliberate steps to repair Botswana’s health system, assuring the nation that long-standing drug shortages are being tackled through emergency interventions and structural reform.
Addressing members of Ntlo Ya Dikgosi during a dinner held in Gaborone recently, President Boko acknowledged that medicine stock-outs had become a painful reality for many Batswana, but emphasised that the situation did not emerge overnight and would not be solved by rhetoric alone.
Instead, he said government had moved swiftly to stabilise supplies while putting in place long-term systems designed to ensure that essential medicines were consistently available in clinics and hospitals across the country.
“We are not managing a crisis, we are fixing a system that has been failing our people for too long,” he said.To speedily remedy the situation and restore supplies, he emphasised that at the centre of the government’s immediate response is an aggressive emergency procurement programme aimed at replenishing depleted stocks of essential medicines.
Currently, he said the mitigating measures put in place were already easing shortages in public health facilities, reducing the number of patients turned away without treatment.
Priority, he said has been given to life-saving and chronic-care medicines, particularly those relied upon by the elderly and vulnerable communities who depend exclusively on public healthcare.
President Boko made it clear that the government wss mainly focused on preventing future shortages, not simply reacting to them.
He outlined an ongoing overhaul of the Central Medical Stores, describing it as a critical reform to restore efficiency, accountability and transparency in the national medicine supply chain.
With improved procurement planning, strengthened oversight and better coordination between central warehouses and health facilities, he said shortages of medicines would be a thing of the past.
“A clinic should never run out of medicine, because of poor planning or weak systems,” he added.
Additionally, the President said the introduction of modern digital stock-management systems would  also allow government to monitor medicine levels in real time from central depots to the most remote clinics.
These systems, he said were expected to flag shortages early, improve forecasting and eliminate delays that had historically crippled service delivery.
According to President Boko, technology would help ensure accountability at every level, making it harder for failures to go unnoticed. He also highlighted efforts to strengthen human capacity within the Ministry of Health, including specialised training for supply-chain managers and health administrators to improve budgeting, forecasting and inventory control.
In parallel government he said, was working with development partners and international institutions to support infrastructure upgrades, system modernisation and sustainable financing for medicines.
“These partnerships are about building resilience, so that our health sector can withstand pressure without collapsing,” said President Advocate Boko.
He expressed concern that the drug stock-out crisis persisted for years, long before his administration took office. However, he assured the nation that the government had chosen to confront the issue directly rather than normalise failure.For that reason, he urged Ntlo-Ya-Dikgosi members to work with government by amplifying community concerns to ensure reinforcement of public confidence during the reform process.
“Leadership is tested when people are at their most vulnerable. Our duty is to make sure the system works when the public needs it most,” he stressed.
President Boko further called for patience as reforms take hold, stressing that progress would ultimately be judged by lived experience, whether a patient received medicine on time, whether clinics were stocked and whether trust was restored.
The address signalled a clear commitment by the new administration to move beyond short-term crisis management toward lasting reform, with health positioned as a cornerstone of national dignity and development.
In his welcome remarks, the Minister for State President, Defence and Security, Mr Moeti Mohwasa said the traditional leadership role was key in nation building, hence the dinner was convened to afford the President chance to engage with the leaders in a relaxed setting that fostered open communication that builds trust and understanding of critical national matters.
Giving closing remarks, Ntlo-ya-Dikgosi chairperson, Kgosi Malope II expressed gratitude that President Boko found it fitting to avail himself to engage and share with Dikgosi what efforts the government have put in place to address the current health challenge in the country.
He commended the President’s commitment to strengthening dialogue and collaboration with traditional leadership.
The dinner was meant to foster constructive engagement on key national priorities that impact communities across the country. ENDS