Vice President of Botswana Discusses Opportunities for Global Health Partnership with Georgetown University
On Thursday, April 24, Georgetown University welcomed Ndaba Gaolathe, vice president and minister of finance of the Republic of Botswana, for a high-level discussion with faculty about opportunities for partnership in global health between his government and the university.
For nearly six decades, the Botswana Democratic Party governed the country, making Botswana the continent’s longest uninterrupted multiparty democracy.
That changed in the 2024 national elections, when the Umbrella for Democratic Change coalition, led by current President Gideon Boko, ended the party’s long-standing rule in a landslide victory. Shortly thereafter, Boko appointed Gaolathe to serve concurrently as vice president and minister of finance.
Strategic Priorities and Partnerships
Thomas Banchoff, Ph.D., vice president for global engagement at Georgetown, opened the meeting by highlighting the university’s historic ties to Africa. He noted Georgetown’s role in supporting the U.S. anti-apartheid movement and its ongoing partnerships across the continent, from HIV programs in Eswatini and Malawi to policy initiatives in Kenya.
In his remarks, Gaolathe outlined the administration’s priorities to position Botswana for high-income status within the next decade.
He identified specific areas of collaboration reflecting the country’s land-linked status, including the need to rebuild institutional capacity, revitalization of state-owned enterprises and parastatals, roll out a national health insurance system, and development of logistics and supply chain end-to-end ecosystem.
Regional Impact
One of the key opportunities discussed was how Botswana’s strategic location in Southern Africa could support its development as a hub for manufacturing and transportation. Gaolathe pointed specifically to the potential expansion of the Botswana Vaccine Institute to position the country as a major exporter of essential health products, benefiting both regional and global health markets.
With Gaolathe's visit following the launch of the Collaborating Center for Health Market Development in Africa, Deus Bazira, DrPH, MPH, MBA, director of the Center for Global Health Practice and Impact (CGHPI) and the Global Health Institute, briefed him on expanding the university’s existing partnerships to help establish a Botswana Public Health Institute.
Ambassador Mark Dybul, M.D., professor of medicine in the Georgetown University School of Medicine and chief strategy officer at the CGHPI, discussed Georgetown's efforts to support countries transition from foreign aid dependence to sustainable, country-led health systems and to re-imagine the global health architecture.
Reflecting on the conversation, Martine Etienne-Mesubi, DrPH, MPH, assistant professor of medicine and health services outcomes improvement lead at CGHPI, described it as “an exciting and strategic opportunity to demonstrate impactful, country-led partnerships that align with both national priorities and regional development goals.” Etienne-Mesubi has been collaborating with counterparts in Botswana to develop country-relevant models for integrating vertical disease control programs in primary care.
Future Collaboration
The meeting laid important groundwork for further collaboration, including supporting Botswana to host a national health financing dialogue in partnership with AUDA-NEPAD.
