Nurse shortfall tests Botswana’s universal healthcare ambitions

Sunday Standard Nurse shortfall tests Botswana’s universal healthcare ambitions Botswana’s ambition to achieve universal health coverage is being tested by whether it has enough nurses and other health workers to meet growing demand. The number of nurses in the public sector fell to 7,620 in 2024 from a peak of 8,948 three years earlier, while the combined density of doctors and nurses dropped to […] The post Nurse shortfall tests Botswana’s universal healthcare ambitions first appeared on Sunday Standard and is written by Sunday Standard Reporter

Oct 12, 2026 - 09:00

Sunday Standard

Nurse shortfall tests Botswana’s universal healthcare ambitions

Botswana’s ambition to achieve universal health coverage is being tested by whether it has enough nurses and other health workers to meet growing demand.

The number of nurses in the public sector fell to 7,620 in 2024 from a peak of 8,948 three years earlier, while the combined density of doctors and nurses dropped to 35 per 10,000 people from 42 in 2021, according to Statistics Botswana. The agency says the ratio has remained below the 45 per 10,000 benchmark it cites from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The figures come as President Duma Boko’s government moves to establish a National Health Insurance system as the centrepiece of its plan to expand access to healthcare and reduce financial barriers.

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