BOTSWANA BACKGROUND BRIEF
November 2008
Background
Botswana has made steady development gains since independence, moving from a lower-rung,
least developed country to an upper middle income country in just over two decades, and
broadening access to basic services against the major difficulties of delivery presented by a small
population (slightly under 2 million), sparsely distributed over a country the size of France or
Kenya.
The most spectacular area of success has been in education, where universal access to the first 10
years of schooling is now assured for boys and girls alike.
Like many other countries in Africa, the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS has gradually reversed
Botswana’s development gains achieved overtime. People and systems of governance simply did
not have the necessary competencies to deal with a new threat that quickly got out of control. If
HIV/AIDS had not hit, Botswana was well on course to achieve remarkable development success.
Statistics
Total population (millions): 1.9
Population growth (annual %): 1.2
Surface area (sq. km): 581,730
GDP per capita (PPP US$): 13,089
GDP growth (annual %): 4.2
Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %): 8.4
Unemployment (% of total labor force): 17.6
Life expectancy at birth (years): 46.6
Median age of total population (years): 21.1
Human Development Index (Rank 1 - 177): 131
Human Development Index Value: 0.6
Sex ratio at birth (males per 100 females): 103.0
The Millennium Development Goals1
At a glance
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger – Possible to achieve if some changes are made
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education – Insufficient information
• Net enrolment ratio in primary education (% both sexes): 84.1
• Percentage of pupils starting Grade 1 and reach Grade 5 (% both sexes): 74.6
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women – On track
• Gender parity Index in primary level enrolment (ratio of girls to boys): 1.0
• Literacy rates of 15-24 years old (% both sexes): 94.1
• Seats held by women in national parliament (%): 11.1
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality – Possible to achieve if some changes are made
• Mortality rate of children under 5 years old (per 1,000 live births): 124
• 1-year-old children immunized against measles (%): 90
1 The MDG data presented here is the latest available from the United Nations Statistics Division. 1
Goal 5: Improve maternal health – Possible to achieve if some changes are made
• Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 births): 380
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases – On track
• People living with HIV,15-49 yrs old (%): 23.9
• Prevalence of tuberculosis (per 100,000 people): 454
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability – Possible to achieve if some changes are made
• Land area covered by forest (%): 21.1
• Carbon dioxide emissions per capita (metric tons): 2.3693
• Access to improved drinking water sources (% of total population): 96
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development – Insufficient information
• Internet users (per 100 people): 4.6
In Detail
MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education
Botswana has made remarkable progress towards achieving universal primary education. Both the
Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) and Net Enrollment Rate (NER) have been maintained at around
114 and 90 per cent respectively, in the past five years. Girls’ participation tends to be almost
equal to boys’ participation at primary school, and slightly higher than boys’ participation in
secondary school. The latest Education Statistics Report (2004) shows that 49.3% of primary
school learners were girls, compared to 52 % at secondary school.2
MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
While over 80 per cent of children are in school in Botswana, gender discrimination continues to
undermine efforts to ensure education for all. Violence against women and girls is widespread;
problems with girls’ retention continue to plague the school system. Over 37 per cent of the
population is HIV-positive, leading to a large orphan population and increased household
responsibilities for girls – which often deprive them of the opportunity to attend classes and thrive
in school.
Programmes and activities
Botswana has initiated the following programmes in support of accomplishing the MDGs:
•
Girls-Boys Education Movement (G-BEM)
The Girls-Boys Education Movement (G-BEM) supports peer-based life skills education
in school, as well as advocacy and lobbying about children’s rights. Their activities have
resulted in policy changes, such as retaining adolescent mothers in schools and
government-supported research that is conducted in schools.
•
Ringing the Bell: A re tsogeng
The ‘Ringing the Bell: A re tsogeng’ project is a partnership between the Botswana
Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (BONEPWA), UNICEF and Botswana’s
Ministry of Education. Established in 2002, the project engages people living with
HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) as role models and ambassadors to bring “behaviour change
2 According to information obtained from the 2007 UNICEF Botswana Annual Report 2
messages to schools and in the process making the schools become youth-friendly
information centres on adolescent reproductive health, sexuality, and human rights.”3
•
Telling the Story
‘Telling the Story’ is a human interest project capturing stories of school children in
Botswana and was conducted by young people in the Girls-Boys Education Movement
(G-BEM). The project covered themes such as sexual harassment, early marriages,
sexuality, corporal punishment and violence, physical and verbal abuse as well as
orphans and vulnerable children.
Partners
Partners currently working in Botswana towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals
include the following:
•
UNICEF
In March 2007, 110 children from 26 schools across Botswana participated in the launch
of the State of the World’s Children report. Their participation included a video taped
talk show on the topic “Gender Inequality; A child’s perspective”, which formed the
basis for discussion of inequality in Botswana during the launch. A website featuring the
video was published on the UNICEF website4.
•
Botswana’s Ministry of Education
The development of Botswana’s Child-Friendly Gender-Sensitive School criteria by
children was created as a direct result of the findings from the ‘Telling the Story’ project,
which were presented to Botswana’s Minister of Education on 26 October 2006.
•
Botswana Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS
In 2002, Botswana Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (BONEPWA) entered into
a partnership with UNICEF and Botswana’s Ministry of Education to engage people
living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) as role models and ambassadors of hope in
Botswana’s fight against the escalating HIV/AIDS epidemic.
•
Botswana chapter of the Girls’ Education Movement (GEM)
The Botswana chapter of the Girls’ Education Movement is a grassroots initiative that
promotes equality in education throughout Africa. One of the many strengths of the
initiative is its ability to adapt to diverse contexts while preserving the ideal of change
through child participation.
Champions, spokespeople and activists
UNICEF Spokespeople from the Eastern & Southern Africa Region
•
•
•
Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Singer and businesswoman, April 2005
Zola, Singer and actor, November 2006
Narcisse Randrianarivony (Namesix), Singer, May 2007
3 An evaluation of this programme can be found at: http://www.unicef.org/evaldatabase/index_29604.html. 4 Additional information is available at: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/botswana_39594.html. 3
Contacts
Country Office
UNICEF
P.O. Box 20678
Gaborone, Botswana
Telephone: (267) 395 2752
Fax: (267) 395 1233
[email protected]
Ms. Mmamiki Kamanakao, Education Officer
Telephone: (267) 395 1909 extension 120
[email protected]
Ms. Mable Bonyana Bolele, Communication Officer
Telephone: (267) 395 1909 extension 108
[email protected]
Regional office
UNICEF - East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO)
UN Offices, "Block F"
Girgiri (Limuru Road)
Nairobi, Kenya
Telephone: (254) (20) 762 1234
Fax: (254) (20) 762 2678
Mr. Per Engebak, Regional Director
Telephone: (254) (20) 762 2226
[email protected]
Ms. Aster Haregot, Project Officer, Education
Telephone: (254) (20) 762 2780
[email protected] 4