16th August 2022
Own Correspondent
Lockdowns and movement restrictions in Botswana and elsewhere in the world, meant that health supply chain systems experienced shortages revealed health officials.
Consequently, global and regional markets were highly overwhelmed. Countries that manufactured these highly needed medical commodities were then forced to prioritise their domestic markets.
“Importers like us and the rest of the developing world suffered the debilitating effects of this development. Shortages of medical supplies and their delayed arrival in developing
countries became a new reality,” said Dr Edwin Dikoloti, Minister of Health.
He said, “Travel restrictions that were imposed in order to control the spread of the disease greatly affected the manufacture, supply and transportation of medical supplies and commodities.”
Botswana’s health system has been growing through primary health care approach that promotes access to affordable, safe and quality health care services as guided by the Public Health Act (2013), Health Policy (2011), Essential Health Service Package and other guiding documents.
“Despite this positive development however, we are meeting at a time when the health care system in our country and indeed globally, has experienced serious setbacks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr Dikoloti.
He said, “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all sectors of economy and the global health supply chain system in particular, cannot be over-emphasized.”
According to officials there are some fundamental issues that need to be given attention such as the domestic institutional ability to supply health commodities, international suppliers and also issues relating to managing the middleman while cognisant of the need to embrace citizen economic empowerment in the supply chain system.
Government investment in the supply chain system remains aligned to the Abuja Declaration of 15% government budget for health.
“We acknowledge that the supply chain is a new concept and discipline which calls for professionalism in line with the revised Public Procurement Act. However, we pin our hopes on you as stakeholders to come up with appropriate solutions to these challenges,” said Dr Dikoloti.
