Para 134) The following are the achievements of Government in improving access to health services:
• Furthermore, Global initiatives such as FP 2030 Agenda have been adapted to further strengthen interventions for maternal mortality reduction. In an endeavour to strengthen provision of sexual and reproductive health services during emergencies, the Ministry of Health with support from the UNFPA undertook an assessment on the country’s readiness to provide Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for SRH in Emergencies. The aim of the MISP Readiness Assessment is to provide a snapshot of national and/ or sub-national readiness and capacity to ensure access to essential SRH services.
Para 138) The following health services are offered in collaboration with the ministry of Health, NGO and the International Community: Curative Services; Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning Services;
Para 139) The Government of Botswana continues to strive towards reducing maternal mortality to meet the set SDG 3 target of (reducing maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 by 2030). Interventions to track and ensure quality of care are continuously being implemented as scheduled annually. These include, but not limited to the following: maternal national and institutional committees and the Maternal Mortality Reduction Initiative (MMRI). Capacity building on Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EmONC) continues to be pivotal to improvement of quality care towards reduction maternal mortality. To date, the MMR stands at 130.5 per 100,000 (2020), a decline from 166.3 per 100,000 in 2019.
Para 140) Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) in Botswana shows continuous improvement especially in the Family planning and Reproductive cancers components. This is evidenced by an increase in the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate from 52.8% in 2007 to 67.3% in 2017 and an increase in screening coverage for cervical cancer from 57% in 2017 to 65% in 2021. The increase in CPR was attributable to the introduction of Long-Term Reversible contraceptives (e.g. Implants). The Ministry has reviewed the 2021 strategic document to run from 2022-2026 in order to incorporate critical community engagement interventions to address maternal mortality reduction.
Para 141) In order to sustain this achievement, the Ministry of Health has effectively integrated the Comprehensive post abortion care intervention into the Family planning component to harness the positive linkage to adoption of long-term reversible contraceptives. This approach will go a long way in reducing the unmet need for family planning and reduce unintended pregnancies.
Para 142) Government has introduced specialist services in district hospitals in order to improve services. These specialist services are general surgery, internal medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology and anaesthesia. Government has a budget to pay local and international private facilities for citizen’s specialised medical care which is not available in public sector facilities.