HEALTH CRISIS

For many Batswana, falling sick has become more frightening than ever before. Across villages and cities, patients are no longer battling illness, but also the painful reality of empty shelves at public hospitals and clinics.Although Members of Parliament from the ruling party, together with Health Minister Stephen Modise, continue to assure the nation that medicines will soon be available in public health facilities, many citizens say they areexhausted by promises that don’t come to pass.In homes from Mochudi to Sikwane, from Kanye to Gaborone, patients relying on chronic medication wake up each day uncertain whether they will get the pills that keep them alive.For pensioners, the struggle is becoming unbearable. Many elderly citizens say their monthly pension disappears almost immediately after visiting private pharmacies.Some say they can only buy a few high blood pressure tablets because they cannot afford a full supply. Others say prices continue to rise while their health continues to weaken.At several pharmacies, workers quietly admit that they too are beginning to run out of stock for certain medicines as demand grows from desperate patients leaving public hospitals empty-handed.The burden is now visible everywhere. Elderly people queue at pharmacies carrying prescriptions they cannot fully afford. Parents move from one pharmacy to the other searching for asthma medication for their children.Families borrow money to buy antibiotics. Some patients simply return home untreated. What was once viewed as a temporary challenge is now beginning to feel like a painful new way of life.Among ordinary citizens, fear is growing. Some families say they are burying loved ones almost every week. Others believe illnesses that could have been managed are now becoming deadly because treatment is delayed or unavailable.In villages, at funerals, in taxis and at shopping malls, conversations about medicine shortages have taken over daily life. Health, once taken for granted by many, has become a source of anxiety.Public figures have also started openly speaking about the crisis.One citizen, after attending a funeral in Serowe, shared how discussions around medicine shortages dominated conversations among mourners.“Yesterday I made a quick return trip to Serowe to honour my departed uncle Raletamo Ketlareng. I could not bury him today because of the charity walk.In the three hours I spent at Sjapi, the dominant conversation was about melemo. Borre ga se batho ba go bua ka botsogo, maabane ke letse ke amegile,” he said.He continued: “Yo mongwe said to me, le ha o ka ya ko Sekgoma now, shelf di empty! They went on to tell me prices tsa melemo mo di pharmacing. Something we never imagined. Mariga batho re tshabelelwa ke go bidiwa keMorena, jaanong ha melemo e seo jaana ke kgosomano. Botsogo pele puso!” The emotional words capture what many Batswana are currently feeling - fear, frustration and helplessness.Patients say the crisis is hitting the poor the hardest. While those with money still have a chance to buy treatment from private pharmacies, low-income families are left with almost no options.For a diabetic patient, missing medication even for a few days can be dangerous. For those with hypertension, asthma or mental health conditions, treatment interruptions can quickly turn into emergencies. Many citizens now say healthcare is slowly becoming divided between those who can pay and those who cannot.Despite repeated assurances from government that recovery efforts are underway, the shortages continue to push thousands away from public healthcare facilities into expensive private pharmacies.Ministry of Health Spokesperson Dr Christopher Nyanga admitted recently that shortages still exist in several categories of medicines across public health facilities.According to Dr Nyanga, the most affected categories include anti-infectives, anti-hypertensive medicines, asthma treatments, ophthalmic drugs and mental health medication. Most of these categories currently remain below 50 percent availability.However, he said some critical vaccines, antiretroviral therapy, cancer medicines and tuberculosis treatment are still sufficiently stocked.Still, for many patients, those assurances bring little comfort when they continue leaving hospitals without medication.Healthcare workers also find themselves caught in the middle of growing public anger. Nurses and doctors often face frustrated patients daily, despite not being responsible for procurement delays or stock shortages. Some patients say they no longer know who to trust. For pensioners, every month has become a painful calculation between food, transport and medicine.For parents, every cough or fever now comes with fear. And for many patients living with chronic illnesses, the uncertainty has become emotionally draining.

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HEALTH CRISIS