Major shifts in healthcare since COVID- 19

The COVID- 19 pandemic is two years old now and so far a population almost three times that of Botswana has already died, with millions still battling the infection and its side effects.

Even for those that have not fallen seriously ill, nearly every aspect of our lives has been affected one way or another – how we socialise, how we communicate, how we work, study, travel and a lot more.

On the one hand, there’s optimism as more Batswana receive vaccines and resume in- person interactions. On the other hand, people are frustrated as the pandemic drags on with new variants and mixed guidance, and the return to normal is stymied by price inflation and supply chain disruptions, to which the Russia - Ukraine war seems to have added more fuel, literally.

The pandemic put a magnifying glass on a lot of devastating gaps that had been unnoticeably existent in our health systems for far too long. One such crisis is health inequity.

This started showing from the early months of the disease when bigger economies had the earliest, largest shares of PPE and other equipment required to combat the disease, then vaccine distribution exposed it even further. It was a wake- up call to hundreds of other nations to now channel their planning and policies to being more self- sufficient. Botswana is one such country. A good lesson learned the hard way.

For health care professionals, balancing the positive with the negative is an even greater challenge. For our communities, the pandemic’s effects are far from over.

The virus will continue to affect all care settings for the foreseeable future and will continue to shape major decisions. For most health system providers, this means there are no more discussions of a “post- COVID” operating environment. Instead, the job is about managing the virus to minimise or eliminate the disruptions it can cause.

Globally we have so far seen a massive wave of investment, innovation and new entrants from the technology, telecom and consumer industries. In 2021 alone, $ 44billion was raised globally in health innovation – twice as much as 2020 – and the acquisition of health and health technology companies in general rose 50percent. Upcoming entrepreneurs should take heed of this by diverting their ideas to fit into the health sector. Systemic socioeconomic, racial, geographic and even generational factors all contribute to reaching – and maintaining – good health. We must step- up to close the gaps, particularly with the rise in chronic disease posing a significant public health threat. Barriers to education, diagnosis and treatment must be urgently addressed. Big changes are on the horizon globally for many operations that are critical for ongoing pandemic response, including modernising supply chain operations and technologies, addressing health disparities, and improving efficiencies to improve the work lives and health of employees.

Combined, the potential net effect is an environment that is more complex than ever before as providers continue to treat COVID- 19 cases while working to implement large- scale changes in a variety of areas.

While challenging now, these changes ultimately are long overdue and largely positive for the industry. For a country like Botswana, when complete, the nation should have a much more modern and resilient health care system, one that is more innovative, efficient, and effective. The gaps need to be closed.