BOTSWANA— Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) – Botswana, has announced it will turn to the region to recruit pharmacists and pharmaceutical technologists to fill the gap left by nurses after they stopped dispensing medications.
This follows the recent decision by the Botswana Nurse Union (BONU) to stop nurses and midwives from dispensing drugs and other related substances and consequently, leaving patients struggling to access medications and related substances.
Moreover, District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) are reported to have shortages of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who according to BONU are the only ones authorized to perform the task.
The situation remains a national crisis as the DHMT across the country continues to await guidance from the Ministry of Health.
BONU Acting President, Oreeditse Kelebakgosi recently stressed that they have not instructed nurses to boycott their duties but rather advised and encouraged them to exercise their duties as per the act
“We have spoken to nurses and midwives to stop dispensing medication in hospitals, clinics, and health posts until this matter is resolved by the ministry and BONU. As of now, we are awaiting a response from the ministry regarding the matter at hand,” said Kelebakgosi.
Botswana nurses stopped filling prescriptions for patients in July 2023.
BONU recently wrote to the Health Ministry highlighting that the current practice of nurses and midwives dispensing medicines is both unlawful and in violation of the code of ethics for practicing nurses and midwives.
The nurses association indicated that their decision to cease this practice was made to ensure compliance with the Medicines and Related Substances Act of 2013 and the Nurses and Midwives Act of 1995.
Therefore, the MoHSS has announced it is aiming to recruit at least 1,000 pharmacists to plug the hole left.
The situation has led to congestion at the country’s pharmacies and left some patients unable to get their medications at all.
Now the government is looking to bring in pharmacists from abroad to fill the void and avert a health crisis.
Speaking in parliament Monday, Botswana’s Assistant Health Minister, Sethumo Lelatisitswe, said that despite recruiting about 100 pharmacists over the last month, the shortage is still severe.
“We only have a few pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in the market. In the coming weeks, we would have exhausted the Botswana market,” Minister Lelatisitswe said.
The Minister added that the MoHSS had been able to replace all nurses and midwives that had been dispensing medications from as long ago as the birth of the modern Botswana health system.
He acknowledged that the country’s local tertiary institutions did not produce enough pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who can be engaged to serve the people of Botswana.
“We need close to a thousand pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to have all our clinics and health facilities adequately covered. Given the shortage of these professionals in the market, including regionally … it may take up to five years to have these numbers,” acknowledged the Assistant Health Minister.
BONU President Kelebakgosi applauded the government’s move to recruit from outside Botswana, saying the effort would bring relief to the nurses who have been dispensing medication outside their scope of work.
HIV activist Bonosi Segadimo said the shortage of pharmacists would negatively impact the distribution of ARV drugs since the Southern African nation has among the world’s highest HIV prevalence with nearly 21% of the adult population living with the virus.
Segadimo noted, “This issue of nurses stopping the dispensing of drugs is a very bad idea. Most clients have to take public transport to go and get their medications from clinics, where there are no pharmacists.”
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