Blogging from Botswana Part II: Healthcare in Bostwana
In the second part of this series I hope to introduce the healthcare system of Botswana.
Botswana has two parallel health systems—the public system and private system—each with its own hospitals, clinics, and physicians. Care in the public sector, including laboratory testing, hospitalization and medications, is free for all Batswana (citizens of Botswana are known as Batswana).
The Princess Marina Hospital
The Princess Marina Hospital (PMH) in the capital of Gaborone is one of the two main public hospitals in Botswana. Patients are commonly referred from smaller district hospitals and outreach clinics to PMH for specialized or complicated care.
In-patients are cared for in medical wards, divided by gender. Spaces are open with many windows to allow for natural ventilation.
The Mathubudukwane clinic in Kgatleng district of Botswana near the Zimbabwe border. Remote clinics like this one provide the majority of care for people living outside of the major cities of Gaborone and Francistown. Everything from pediatric primary care to a basic pharmacy to a delivery room are available at these remote clinics.
Patient laundry drys on bushes in a courtyard of Princess Marina Hospital.
In addition to public and private westernized medicine, there is an important third “health system,” involving traditional medicine and delivered by traditional healers. As a medically pleural society, it is very common for most Batswana to receive health care from both traditional healers and the public system.
Nurses, medical students and local physicians round in the wards of PMH.
Botswana’s first medical school was formed only recently. The first pre-med class began in August 2008.
Botswana started its first internship program in January 2007; prior to this time, all Batswana medical students received their clinical training at hospitals outside Botswana.
Teaching rounds at PMH join local housestaff, attendings and visiting students, residents and attendings to discuss patient cases.
Due to the recent establishment of formalized medical education within the country, around 90% of the physicians in the public hospitals are from outside Botswana. There is a nursing school at the University of Botswana, in the capital Gaborone, so most nurses are Batswana; the rest come from other countries in Africa, China, and Cuba.
Several American universities have developed programs in Botswana. The University of Pennsylvania-Botswana Partnership began in 2001 and UPenn has been working at the public hospital in Gaborone, Princess Marina Hospital, since 2004 and at Nyangabgwe Hospital in Francistown since January 2006. UPenn is also collaborating on the design and implementation of expanded clinical and medical training in Botswana.
The Botswana–Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative was founded in 1996 and has since continued research studies including mother-to-child transmission; mutation rates for Clade C HIV and other biological features of Clade C Virus; Clade C vaccine studies; and several drug studies. This branch of the Harvard AIDS Institute in Botswana is located in the research laboratory at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone.
Baylor's Clinical Center in Gaborone
Baylor College of Medicine plays a very important role in outpatient pediatric HIV care and medical education at Princess Marina Hospital. They have maintained a large research and clinical facility, the Botswana-Baylor Children’s Clinical Center of Excellence, at Princess Marina Hospital since the spring of 2003, making a significant contribution to both outpatient and inpatient pediatric care and teaching.
See the International Institute for Health Promotion for more on the healthcare system of Botswana.
And stay tuned for the next part of the series!
About The Author
Jennifer Weinberg
Global Pulse editor and Medical Student at the University of Pennsylvania.
Other posts byJennifer Weinberg
Author his web sitehttp://www.globalpulsejournal.com
Hello, I am looking to get in contact with dr Obby Mwaipopo, Gynaecologist, whom I met years ago during a medical field rotation in Tnazania. Could you provide me with an (email) adress of the hospital or himself? The last I heared is that he was working at the Princess Marina in Botswana.
Hello! Thank you for checking out the Global Pulse Blog. I am sorry but I have no contact information for this person.
Best,
Jennifer
Hello,im impressed with the recent improvements made in Health sector in Bostwana. im interested in working as an intern in any of the main public hospitals in bostwana. how do i apply? when is the next recruitment coming? thanks in advance.
Hello! Thank you for visiting the Global Pulse Blog! I am sorry that I do not have any information about securing an internship in Botswana. Best of luck!
Anozie Ijeoma asked about recruitment in Botswana. As far as I know the govt is in NEED of health personnel. At the moment there is shortage. The govt is losing personnel to the private sector and mines. There is a new private hospital that is soon to open. All these sectors are in need of overall health personnel. You can go online to get the Ministry of health’s details. New hosp is called Bokamoso, go to their website to apply. hope this helps.
i need grand opening date of the princess marina hospital in botswana, and why it was named princesss marina
hello, I~m doing a research on princess marina. May you give me info on their current staff,organisational structure, the fields of medical care. thanks
Hello,Im obby mwaipopo kindly provide me with Robert Schoevers e-mail address.On 9/6/2009 he requested you to give my e-mail but you failed to get my contact information.Im still living in Gaborone city, Botswana.Could you kindly give him my e-mail.
hi.
am doing a research on the kind of services done in the hospital for my desertation, any kind of history or related issues related to healthcare delivery systems by the marina hospital will be highly appreciated to ths email. thanx.
hello.
i’m looking for the history of princess marina hospital.thanks for that