21 Sep 2026

Surplus medical supplies procured for the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 2026, including the much-needed asthma medication, have been handed over to the Gaborone City Council (GCC) to bolster local public health facilities.

The donation includes medicines, non-medical supplies and medical equipment, with GCC head of pharmacy, Marian Modutlwa, highlighting salbutamol solution among the urgently needed medicines received.

Modutlwa said the council currently had no salbutamol solution, a medicine used in the emergency treatment of asthma and had been struggling to procure it.“We have been desperately looking for them. We could not even procure them,” she said.

She said the consignment also included antibiotics, eye medication, supplies for home-based care clients and wheelchairs, adding that the items would help address needs across the city’s health facilities.

The handover formed part of the legacy programme of the World Athletics Relays, which were hosted in Botswana in May.

Speaking at the handover ceremony recently, Local Organising Committee (LOC) chairperson, Professor Martin Mokgwathi said the medical supplies had been procured to meet World Athletics requirements and ensure medical preparedness for athletes, officials, volunteers, support personnel and spectators during the competition.

Mokgwathi said the event concluded without any major medical incidents or emergencies, attributing the outcome to the preparedness and professionalism of the medical teams.

He said the LOC had decided that supplies remaining after the event should continue to benefit the public rather than go to waste.

He added that some of the medicines had expiry dates ranging from October 2026 to 2028, hence timely distribution to public healthcare facilities was necessary.

“We considered it both prudent and necessary that they continue to serve the people of Botswana beyond the event itself,” he said.

Mokgwathi said the LOC had collaborated with GCC and the Ministry of Sport and Arts to facilitate distribution of the supplies to clinics and healthcare facilities where they were most needed.

He said the donations were part of a legacy programme intended to ensure that the benefits of hosting the global athletics event extended beyond the competition itself.

Other assets from the event would also be distributed to sporting and government institutions.

Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) would receive physiotherapy equipment, media and technical equipment, office furniture and sustainability assets. 

BAA would also inherit the majority of the remaining sporting equipment to support athlete development and high-performance sport, while the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) would receive information technology, branding and power related equipment.

Mokgwathi said more than 600 volunteers contributed to the successful staging of the event and thanked government, sponsors, World Athletics and other stakeholders for their support.

Gaborone mayor, Oarabile Motlaleng, said hosting the World Athletics Relays had raised the profile of both Botswana and the capital city internationally.

He said the successful hosting of the event had shown Gaborone’s capacity to host major international sporting tournaments.

The mayor said the exposure could also create opportunities for the city to benefit from future international sporting events.

He commended the LOC and stakeholders for what he described as an achievement that had showcased Botswana’s organisational capacity.

ENDS