Doctors

Bottom line: there are very few doctors here compared to the U.S., with nurses providing the great majority of care. Whole hospitals might have fewer than five doctors, at least until you reach one of the country’s two major referral hospitals. Each government health district includes as many as 50 clinics and tiny health posts, but each district has only a handful of doctors. These doctors rotate among the clinics every day, with the smaller health posts, for example, only having a doctor visit once a month.

As I mentioned in a previous message, Botswana does not have any medical schools, though the first (affiliated with the University of Botswana) is in the early stages of construction. Therefore, there is no such thing as a Botswana-trained doctor, which can cause language and cultural problems. Most come from other African countries, including DRC (Congo), Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania. Plus, of course, Cuba. These doctors arrive, generally not speaking Setswana, and sometimes (particularly with those from Cuba) English can be a problem. Just as many doctors probably came to Botswana seeking better pay, it seems that some here now are looking ahead to South Africa, even as those in South Africa are dreaming of Europe or the U.S.