PHOTO: YLVA SAHLSTRAND
Capital: Gaborone
Official languages: English, Setswana
Area: 581,730 km2
Population (2010): 2,029,307
Government: Unitary parliamentary
republic
President: Ian Khama
BOTSWANA AND SWEDEN
Cooperation through the years
Education, water, health, and knowledge exchange
have been core areas during almost 50 years of
development cooperation between Botswana and Sweden.
Our long-term partnership started after the independence of Botswana in 1966.
Since then, its aim has been to reduce poverty and achieve economic development.
Today, as the official bilateral development cooperation ends, the aspiration is that
our partnerships of mutual interest will continue in other forms.
ALMOST 50 YEARS
of development cooperation
The cooperation focuses on trade exchanges
with the purpose to stimulate business and create
jobs. Sweden also contributes with technical
expertise to help develop Botswana’s telecommunications and to increase traffic safety.
PHOTO: BO GÖRAN HOLMGREN
PHOTO: YLVA SAHLSTRAND
Support to water supply in
rural areas is also key.
2009
Partner Driven Cooperation
– focusing on deepening
and extending relations
between our countries.
Four areas are particularly
highlighted; poverty-oriented
economic development,
environment and climate,
democracy and human rights,
as well as HIV/AIDS.
The aim is for the partnerships
to be able to exist without aid.
To help create more jobs and reduce the dependence on
South Africa, Sweden focuses on support to small scale
industry.
* UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization.
1998
Botswana is now moving from
a low-income to a middle-income
country. The cooperation therefore
takes a broader form.
Now it includes technical assistance
to improve Botswana´s electricity
infrastructure.
Increasing numbers of people in
rural areas have access to electricity
and drinking water.
Sweden also contributes with expertise in land registration and supports efforts to combat HIV/AIDS.
2013
In December 2013 the official bilateral development
cooperation between Botswana and Sweden ends.
The aspiration is that current partnerships, as well as
future relationships, will continue in other forms.
PHOTO: TREVOR SAMSON
The traditional Swedish
development co-operation
with Botswana changes
as Botswana’s economy
gets stronger.
PHOTO: ARNE HOEL
PHOTO: TREVOR SAMSON
1988
Before the official bilateral
agreement is signed in 1971, Swedish
aid is provided directly to schools in
Botswana, largely through the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Through UNESCO, Sweden later also supports
training of teachers.
PHOTO: ARNE HOEL
1966–1988
A LOOK BACK AT THREE
MAJOR COLLABORATIONS
PHOTO: CURT CARNEMARK
Working towards poverty reduction in
Botswana has been a long-term process
where Swedish support has played a part.
Botswana has gone from being one of the
poorest countries in the world to one of the
richest in Africa. Investments for social and
economic development in areas such as
education, water, health and rural electrification have contributed to this success.
PHOTO: ARNE HOEL
PHOTO: JONATHAN ERNST
All children and youth in Botswana are entitled to ten years of primary education.
Today nearly 85 percent of the population can read and write.
Access to Water
Education Drive
Rural Electrification
The expansion of water supply systems
within the Rural Village Water Supply
Programme (between 1971 and 1993)
gave 600,000 rural people access to
decent drinking water within walking
distance.
Thanks to major investments in the
school sector between 1972 and 1980,
the number of students enrolled at
primary schools in Botswana increased
with almost 95 percent each year.
Efforts to provide rural villages with
electricity started already in the
beginning of the cooperation between
Botswana and Sweden (1976).
The program covered drilling and construction of water facilities with good
water quality. To reduce the risk of diseases, activities were set up to make
people aware of good sanitation and
health practices. About 45 percent of
Botswana’s rural population was
affected by the program.
The goal of the program was to improve
the quality of primary education in rural
areas. Schools were constructed, as well
as houses for teachers. Books and other
supplies were produced to help improve
teaching. Students did vocational
training, or received scholarships to
study abroad.
Fifteen large villages gained access to
electricity. For the rural population, it
made it possible to expand economic
activities and to develop small-scale
industries. About 140 companies were
formed as the supply of electricity
enabled new businesses to start up.
70
15 000
1990: HIV/AIDS
60
1971: Swedish cooperation starts
12 000
1966: Independence
50
9 000
40
6 000
30
3 000
20
1950
1960
In 1966 Botswana was one
of the poorest countries in
the world – today it is one
of the 50 richest. In the first
25 years of independence,
Botswana’s economy grew
faster than any other country in the world.
1970
Investments in health,
education and infrastructure
has helped bring down
poverty by half since the
80s, and decrease child
mortality with 85 per cent
since independence.
1980
Primary school enrollment
is today practically
universal, compared to
below 20 per cent at the
time of independence.
1990
2000
In 1990 the HIV/AIDS
epidemic struck Botswana
harder than most other
countries. Life expectancy
fell from 65 years to 45.
Economic growth halted for
a number of years but is
now back to almost pre1990 levels.
GDP per capita (PPP)
Life
ife expectancy
Botswana – A Development Success Story
2010
Today 23 per cent of the
adult population is
estimated to be living with
HIV. But due to good access
to healthcare and almost
universal coverage of
anti-retroviral drug therapy,
the death rate has halved in
the last 10 years.
FROM AID TO PARTNERSHIPS OF MUTUAL INTEREST
Poverty-Oriented Economic Development
Environment and Climate
Democracy and Human Rights
In 2009 the traditional cooperation through Sida is transformed into Partner Driven
Cooperation to broaden relations between Botswana and Sweden. Various stakeholders in
our countries get involved. Besides being beneficial for the partners themselves, the aim with
the cooperation is also to provide opportunities for people living in poor conditions to change
their lives. The strategic areas are economic development, the environment and climate,
democracy and human rights.
Poverty-Oriented Economic Development
Business Sweden plays a role in highlighting
potential markets for business exchanges in
the fields like environmental engineering, ICT and
transport. There is also an exciting cooperation
between Botswana Unified Revenue Services and
Swedish Tax Agency. And one finds projects for young
and female Entrepreneurship.
“
70
PDC-projects
implemented in
Botswana
2008–2013
138
I learned that creativity encourages
innovation and that starting a business is not
only serious, it can make room for fun too.
I also learned that there is no such thing as
pride when starting something, starting small
is recommendable to pave way for achieving
something much greater”
million SEK
disbursed to PDC
in Botswana
2008–20131
TUMELO SEKATE,
17 years old, participants in YoungDrive Academy Botswana
60%
Environment and Climate
In this area, partnerships are mainly
focused on climate change and water
scarcity. Through the cooperation between Swedish
SMHI, the Stockholm International Water Institute
(SIWI), Chalmers University of Technology and the
Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources
in Botswana, water supply strategies are developed
as well as a model to maintain groundwater level.
of PDC-projects in the
selective countries
expected to have joint
activities after 2013
Democracy and Human Rights
Together with the Ministry of Health in
Botswana, the Swedish foundation Spinalis
works with rehabilitation of spinal cord injuries at
the Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone. The partnership now presents a clinical pathway and shares
their methods in Sweden and Botswana.
“
There is a big difference in the care
you receive now if you get a neck injury.
Today there is a rehabilitation center, you get
most of the technical aid you need and also
good training by our well-educated staff”
INKA LÖFVENMARK,
Physiotherapist and Project Coordinator at Spinals
The partners Ministry of Lands and Housing in
Botswana and the Swedish National Land Survey
contribute to clearer ownership of land and property.
“
Once we took the step to advance
from trees as outlining the borders,
it has become important to move on
to the next phase”
FRENGELIN SELEMOGWE,
responsible for the work in the area of Mosopo
1 Numbers for 2013 based on forecast in December 2013
HIV/AIDS – Parallel to Partner Driven Cooperation
Africa AIDS Trust (SAT). SAT further channels the funds to local organizations, such as the Kuru Family Organisations (KFO)
and the Botswana Network of Ethics, Law and AIDS (BONELA).
With this support the organizations improve their management. The organizations are also able to integrate HIV testing and counseling
in their health programs, which makes it possible for more people to be tested for HIV.