09.10.2025-BONELA CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION TO ADDRESS CONDOM, TEST KITS AND STI MEDICATION SHORTAGES IN HEALTH FACILITIES

  1. The Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA) notes with grave concern the ongoing reports of stock-outs of condoms, HIV test kits, and essential sexually transmitted infection (STI) medications across Gaborone, Mahalapye, Palapye, Okavango , South East, Kgatleng , Francistown and Kweneng districts. These shortages are not an isolated supply challenge but a systemic public health and human rights issue that threatens to reverse decades of progress in Botswana’s HIV prevention and treatment efforts.

  2. Access to condoms, , HIV testing, and STI treatment is central to Botswana’s national HIV response and the country’s commitment to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. When public facilities and community outlets run out of condoms, individuals; particularly young people, key populations, and those in rural and low-income settings, are left without the means to protect themselves against HIV infection, other STIs, and unintended pregnancies. The reported shortages of HIV test kits further impede early detection and linkage to treatment, while the unavailability of STI medications prevents timely care, increasing the risk of new infections and worsening existing health inequities, especially for women and girls.

  3. BONELA posits that these stock-outs undermine public confidence in the health system and have broad implications for the sustainability of Botswana’s HIV response. As a nation recognised for leadership in HIV prevention and treatment, Botswana cannot afford regression due to preventable supply chain failures.

  4. BONELA therefore calls upon the Government of Botswana, through the Ministry of Health and NAHPA, to urgently:
  5. Prioritise procurement and equitable distribution of condoms, lubricants, HIV test kits, and STI medications across all health districts
  6. Strengthen national and district-level supply chain systems to prevent recurrent shortages
  7. Enhance transparency and accountability in forecasting, monitoring, and reporting of commodity stocks; and
  8. Improve coordination between government, civil society, and development partners to ensure sustained commodity security.
  9.  Commodity security is not a logistical or administrative concern; it is a human rights and public health obligation. Interruptions in access to these life-saving commodities directly undermine the right to health and the national goal of achieving zero new infections.
    1. While public health remains under a state of emergency and government systems continue to stabilise, BONELA encourages short-term, multi-sectoral solutions to ensure equitable access to essential health commodities. The government should explore partnerships with the private sector to temporarily provide subsidised access to condoms and test kits. Community-based organisations (CBOs) can play a vital role in redistributing available stock from well-supplied to underserved districts. Additionally, local leaders and youth networks should continue promoting safe sexual practices and ensuring that communities are informed about where limited supplies are still available.

    2. The availability of condoms,HIV test kits, and STI medications is the foundation of Botswana’s HIV response, every interruption risks lives, health, and national progress. We therefore urge immediate and decisive action to restore commodity availability and protect the gains achieved in the fight against HIV and related infections.

     

    For more information, contact BONELA on:

    Cindy Kelemi at cindyk@bonela.org  or 72385054

    Katlego Sechele at ksechele@bonela.org  or 72282025