Botswana Declares Health Emergency as Diamond Prices Sink 60% in 4 Years
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 30
Botswana Declares Health Emergency as Diamond Prices Sink 60% in 4 Years
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 30
Summary
Essential medicine and medical-supply shortages pushed President Duma Boko to declare a public health emergency, leaving patients to buy drugs themselves despite Botswana’s free public healthcare system.
Boko linked the crisis to years of dysfunction at the state Central Medical Stores and to a diamond slump that gutted state finances; diamonds make up 80% of exports.
Natural diamond prices have fallen 60% in four years, while the IMF estimated Botswana’s economy shrank 3% in 2024 and 1% in 2025.
The downturn is spreading beyond hospitals: unemployment reached 21% in the year to March 31, 2025, including nearly 29% among people aged 15 to 35.
The strain marks a sharp reversal for one of Africa’s richest countries per capita, exposing how heavily Botswana still depends on diamonds and how weakly its health system has kept pace.