🇧🇼 Botswana Healthcare Guide
Gaborone's Princess Marina Hospital is the main public facility, and the private sector — particularly Bokamoso Private Hospital — provides reasonable care. Outside Gaborone and Francistown, healthcare is limited, and the vast Kalahari and Okavango Delta regions rely on small clinics with basic capabilities. If you're heading on safari or into the delta, carrying your full medication supply and knowing which camp has a clinic versus which requires an air evacuation covers you for a region where distances are measured in hours of unpaved road.
Quick facts
- Emergency number: 112
- Healthcare system: mixed
- Average GP visit: $15 USD
- EHIC/GHIC accepted: No
- Language barrier: medium
Healthcare overview
Gaborone’s Princess Marina Hospital (public) and Gaborone Private Hospital provide the country’s best care. Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta, has a small hospital. Botswana’s vast wilderness areas (the Delta, Makgadikgadi Pans, Central Kalahari) are medically remote, with safari lodges relying on air evacuation to Maun or Gaborone. Private GP visits cost BWP 300–600 ($22–45).
Safari lodge evacuation
Okavango Delta and Kalahari lodges rely on light aircraft for medical evacuations to Maun or Gaborone. Most lodges have radio contact for emergencies.
Maun as Okavango gateway
Maun’s hospital handles basic care for the Delta region, but serious cases require air transfer to Gaborone or Johannesburg.
Vaccinations
Recommended
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Typhoid
Prescriptions and pharmacies
Gaborone has well-stocked pharmacies. Maun has limited pharmacy options. Safari destinations have no pharmacies at all. Carry your full medication supply for any wilderness travel, with a buffer for flight delays that can strand visitors at remote lodges.
Wilderness supply self-sufficiency
There are no pharmacies in the Okavango Delta or Kalahari reserves. Your medication needs to cover the full safari duration plus a weather buffer.
Tips for travellers
Gaborone Private Hospital covers routine specialist care. For complex conditions, Johannesburg (2 hours by road or 1 hour by air) offers South Africa’s world-class specialist hospitals. Having your treatment plan accessible in English helps both Botswanan and South African specialists continue your care seamlessly.
Johannesburg proximity
Johannesburg’s Netcare and Mediclinic hospitals are 1 hour by air from Gaborone, making South Africa’s specialist system a practical backup.