Botswana News

Gaborone: The WHO Representative to Botswana Dr Felicitas Zawaira paid a courtesy call on the new Minister of Health, Honourable Dorcas Makgato. The Minister appreciated the support WHO continues to give to Botswana and indicated that while she understands the fact that WHO is not a funding agency, she wanted to be assured that WHO support will always be forthcoming when asked for. Responding to a pointed and very relevant question, “So how useful can you be to me?”,Dr Zawaira assured the Minister of round the clock availability of WHO support.

Commemoration of the African Vaccination Week and Child Health Days, Botswana

This year’s AVW focus in Botswana was to reduce the number of un-immunised children through reinforcing routine immunization.

To Commemorate African Vaccination Week and Child Health Days, additional support was provided to selected low performing districts during the period April 22- May 31, 2013. The districts selected were Gaborone, Kanye/Moshupa, Goodhope, Mahalapye and Okavango.

The consultation which was co-convened by the Governments of Botswana and Sweden with WHO and UNICEF, brought together 50 high level participants including Ministers of Health, members of the high-level Panel of Eminent Persons, Leaders of International health institutions, representatives of civil society and the private sector, academia, public health experts and youth. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the place of health in the post 2015 development agenda.

The meeting agreed on three broad conclusions;

Gaborone, Botswana, 5 March 2013 -- His Excellency the President Lt. General Seretse Khama Ian Khama officially opened the High Level Dialogue on the MDG Post-2015 Health Agenda on 5th September 2013 at the Gaborone International Conference and Convention Centre.

On the 13th September, 2010 Government of Botswana through Ministry of Health with the support from WHO and other partners launched the malaria elimination campaign to mark the beginning of intensified efforts by Botswana to kick out malaria within its borders. The launch brought together policy makers, decision makers, the private sector and other stakeholders to highlight that malaria elimination will be everyone’s

On the 23rd of July, 2010 the Ministry of Health and her partners launched mass distribution of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLINs) in Gweta and Tsokotshaaa villages in the Tutume sub-district, one of the high malaria transmission areas. The activity was officially launched by the Minister of Health, Dr. John Seakgosing, who encouraged the public to exercise maximum co-operation with the government in the effort to eliminate malaria in Botswana by 2015.

5 August 2009 -- The World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa Dr Luis Gomes Sambo was in Gaborone, Botswana on an official visit to the Champions for HIV-Free Generation.

The aim of the visit was to further strengthen collaboration between the two organizations towards the acceleration of HIV prevention in the African region.

Dr Sambo held discussions with the Chairperson of the Champions for an HIV-Free Generation and former President of Botswana, His Excellency Festus Gontebanye Mogae.

Kasane, 31 May 2009 -- In the long standing tradition of taking the commemoration to people, this year the commemoration was in the tourist town of Kasane in the extreme North west part of the country.

The theme was Tobacco: Health Warnings! It is a theme that resonates well with a lot of initiatives of various government institutions including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Local Government, the Botswana Police service who all made presentations and exhibited at the event.