Status: Completed response
Botswana
As COVID cases rose across Africa, UK-Med deployed sent ten medics and operational specialists to Botswana to provide lifesaving training and support, as part of the UK Emergency Medical Team.
As Africa battled a new wave of the deadly COVID-19 virus in the summer of 2021; Botswana had been particularly hard hit. A third of the country’s total cases had been recorded in July, with the number of deaths rising week on week, accounting for a quarter of the country’s total COVID-19 related deaths.
115220
Total cases
1653
Total deaths
37010
New cases in July
444
New deaths in July
With only 5% (JHU) of the population having been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by August 2021, the recent surge led to a rise in patient hospital admissions, pushing staff and hospital resources to their limits. As a result, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Botswana (MoHW) issued an urgent call for international assistance to help bring the pandemic under control.
Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa with a population of 2.3 million and (CDC/Botswana) its health system already faces significant challenges managing diseases including HIV, TB and Malaria. (WHO/Botswana). The WHO believes that the spread of the Delta variant, which is more transmissible, contributed to the sharp increase in coronavirus cases and deaths across Africa, including Botswana.
Our response
Led by Kenyan epidemiologist, nurse and public health specialist, Eunice Chege, UK-Med deployed a team of ten doctors, nurses and operational experts to provide specialist training and on the job support for Batswana medical professionals in two hospitals in Botswana’s capital city, Gaborone, where they are fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The response lasted for two months.
Our international team from the UK, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Nigeria had specialities that included emergency medicine, critical care, infection prevention and control, risk communications and community engagement, public health and logistics.
They helped strengthen the national health care team’s skills in the identification, referral and management of critically ill COVID patients, strengthening healthcare teams and community’s awareness of the virus and supporting ongoing vaccination efforts.
UK-Med Team Lead, Eunice Chege, says:
“Our well-equipped and expert UK Emergency Medical team will support the MOHW Botswana in strengthening efforts to curb this pandemic.
The pandemic control remains our focus and concern as we strive to save lives and control the disease.”
Our response in more detail
With thanks to the British people via funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
