10 Mar 2026

The Ministry of Health has launched some targeted interventions to address shortage of midwives in the Boteti West constituency and across Botswana, including new training intakes, direct-entry degree programmes and recruitment drives for former public servants. 

Answering a question in Parliament on Monday, Assistant Minister of Health, Mr Lawrence Ookeditse said the ministry was prioritising strategies to bridge the current gap, indicating that a cohort of 47 general nurses currently undergoing midwifery training was expected to complete their studies in May this. 

“These graduates will be strategically deployed to the most severely constrained areas, such as Boteti West,” he said.

He added that in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, the Ministry of Health had scheduled a new intake of general nurses for midwifery training starting in July through the Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) under the Ministry of Higher Education.

 “To create a sustainable pipeline of professionals, IHS is developing a direct-entry Midwifery degree programme. This qualification has already been submitted to the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) for approval,” he added.

He further said the ministry was also recruiting midwives who previously exited the public service. However, the assistant minister bemoaned a challenge where many candidates declined offers to serve in remote or critically understaffed regions. 

“To encourage nurses to specialise, the ministry currently offers a 10 per cent post-basic allowance in addition to overtime and existing benefits. In the interim, midwives are conducting regular outreach services and needs-based antenatal care visits to ensure expectant mothers in the nine health posts across Boteti West receive essential monitoring,” he stated.

Currently, the assistant minister said the Boteti West constituency faced significant deficit owing to a population of 37,000 residents across 12 villages, with only 19 midwives currently serving 13 health facilities. 

He added that nine midwives were stationed at Rakops Primary Hospital and seven at Mopipi Clinic, both 24-hour facilities, leaving only three midwives to cover the remaining clinics in Motopi and Xhumu.

He also indicated that Kumaga, Moreomaoto and Toromoja had on-call arrangements after 1630 hours to handle emergencies, while eight health posts in Xere, Mmadikola, Kumaga, Rakops, Moreomaoto, Makalamabedi, Toromoja and Kedia, currently operated without resident midwives. 

Member of Parliament for Boteti West, Mr Sam Digwa, had expressed concern regarding shortage of midwives at facilities in his constituency, particularly Rakops Primary Hospital. Mr Digwa had also asked if the ministry would consider upgrading midwives to attract more general nurses to enroll in midwifery. BOPA