Botswana's president has said the measure will allow his government to "fast-track solutions" to the shortage of medical supplies in hospitals

Botswana's president has declared a public health emergency, saying the southern African country's health system is under "severe strain due to past irregularities." Duma Boko won a landslide in elections late last year, ending nearly six decades of rule by the former governing party.

In a televised address on Monday, Boko said the national medical supply chain had failed, leaving hospitals and clinics without medicines and other essential supplies.

"This failure has led to a severe disruption to health supplies countrywide," he said, adding that the emergency measure would allow the government to "fast-track solutions and save lives."

The move followed a warning by Botswana's Health Ministry earlier this month that it was facing "significant challenges," including medicine shortages and debts of more than one billion pula (about $75 million) owed to private health facilities and suppliers.

The ministry said medicines for cancers, diabetes, eye conditions, asthma, sexual and reproductive health, tuberculosis, and mental health were in short supply, and announced the postponement of all non-urgent surgeries.

READ MORE: African state suspends health project funded by Bill Gates

Botswana, the world's leading producer of diamonds by value, has faced economic challenges in recent years, largely due to a downturn in the global diamond market. Aid cuts to USAID under US President Donald Trump's administration have further deepened the strain, particularly on the landlocked country's health sector.

On Monday, President Boko launched the Health First Botswana Partnership, a 5 billion pula ($348 million) plan to tackle the shortages. He said the Finance Ministry had approved 250 million pula in emergency funding.

Boko said the military will oversee emergency distribution drives, with the first consignments of "life-saving medicines" already set to leave the capital, Gaborone, for remote areas.

"The work shall remain nonstop until the entire value chain of procurement has been fixed," he stated.

Later, the Health Ministry posted photos of boxes of "much-needed essential medicines" on Facebook, which it said were being sent to Nata, Tutume, Masunga, Sowa Town, Gweta, Maun and other areas.