Botswana’s President Duma Boko has lifted the lid on a deepening pharmaceutical supply chain crisis, exposing troubling evidence of medicine theft and cross-border diversion that is leaving citizens without essential care. In a candid address this week, President Boko revealed that baby formula, which is in critically short supply at Botswana’s public clinics, has been mysteriously appearing on markets in neighbouring Zimbabwe—a stark indication that the country’s medical supplies are being siphoned off for illicit trade.
Compounding the crisis, President Boko confirmed that 96 boxes of essential drugs have vanished without a trace while in transit to the Tutume district, a region near the Botswana-Zimbabwe border where healthcare facilities are already stretched to breaking point. The disappearances are the most visible symptoms of a system under severe strain, rooted in the collapse of the country’s central medical stores, which has been exacerbated by a combination of financial pressures, including a sharp downturn in diamond revenues and a reduction in United States aid. Botswana had already declared a public health emergency in August 2025 in response to mounting shortages.
Authorities have now launched a full-scale investigation into the suspected theft and diversion of medical supplies, with early indications pointing toward possible internal corruption as well as external incentives from cross-border buyers willing to pay premium prices. President Boko assured the public that those responsible would face the full might of the law, while also acknowledging the urgency of restoring trust in the system. “No citizen should have to worry about whether their local clinic has the medicines they need,” he said. Opposition leaders and civil society groups have called for an independent audit of the entire supply chain, warning that without immediate action, the crisis could escalate into a larger public health catastrophe.
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