ICARS is pleased to announce that Botswana has joined its Mission Partners network, marking a significant step in the two organisations’ shared commitment to addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through locally led, evidence-informed action. The partnership was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding between ICARS and the Botswana Ministry of Health.
Mission Partner: Botswana
As an ICARS Mission Partner, Botswana joins a growing network of countries working together to develop and implement context-specific solutions to antimicrobial resistance. The partnership reflects Botswana’s active engagement with its National Action Plan on AMR 2025-2029, which identifies Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC), surveillance, antimicrobial stewardship and governance as priority areas for action.
“Botswana recognises antimicrobial resistance as a growing threat to the effectiveness and quality of healthcare, and strengthening infection prevention and control is central to our national response. Through our National Action Plan on AMR, we are committed to translating policy into practical, evidence-informed interventions that can be integrated into routine health services and sustained over time. This partnership with ICARS provides an important opportunity to generate locally relevant evidence on what works, strengthen ownership and capacity within our health facilities, and build a model that can be adapted and scaled nationally. We look forward to engaging with other projects on the ICARS Mission Partners network to learn and contribute to the body of knowledge and ensure that experiences of other countries, knowledge exchange, access to innovative approaches and the gains from this project extend beyond the participating hospitals and contribute to a stronger, more resilient national AMR response.”
Dr. Celda Thiroyakgosi, AMR focal point, Ministry of Health
AMR in Botswana
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) place a substantial burden on health systems across sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to preventable deaths and driving the inappropriate use of antimicrobials. In Botswana, strengthening IPC is recognised as a critical component of the national AMR response. The country’s National Action Plan on AMR 2025-2029 sets out clear priorities across human, animal and environmental health, with implementation research and local evidence generation identified as key enablers of sustainable progress.
The project
The collaborative activities have already begun with a project that aims to strengthen IPC systems and reduce Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI)s led by the University of Botswana in partnership with the Botswana Ministry of Health and the Botswana-University of Pennsylvania Partnership. It runs from June 2026 to May 2029 and is funded by Wellcome*.
Working across three hospitals: Princess Marina Hospital, Scottish Livingstone Hospital and Deborah Retief Memorial Hospital the project will co-develop, pilot, implement and refine context-specific IPC bundles, with a particular focus on neonatal intensive care units and other high-risk wards, including surgical, obstetric and intensive care settings. Activities include baseline IPC assessments, HAI surveillance, stakeholder mapping, qualitative assessments and staff training. A health economics component will assess implementation costs, savings from prevented infections and return on investment.
The project will also test the Practical Toolkit for Sustainable Impact of AMR Mitigation Interventions to develop a sustainability plan that enhances the long-term impact and scalability of the interventions beyond the project period.
The project aims to reduce HAIs and HAI-attributable mortality in participating wards by 10–20% from baseline. Findings are intended to inform updates to Botswana’s national IPC guidelines and support future scale-up across the health system.
From launch to implementation
On 27 July, a multi-stakeholder launch ceremony brought together representatives from the Ministry of Health, the University of Botswana, WHO Botswana, hospital leadership and the Botswana Public Health Institute and ICARS. Opening remarks were delivered by Dr Celda Thiroyakgosi, AMR focal point at the Ministry of Health, who connected the project directly to Botswana’s National Action Plan and underlined the ministry’s commitment to following implementation closely and planning for scale-up and sustainability from the outset.
Dr Naledi Mannathoko, Co-Principal Investigator, presented the project’s background, objectives, expected outcomes and implementation approach, drawing on implementation research frameworks to guide context-specific delivery. The session also confirmed governance arrangements, including steering committee composition, work package leadership, reporting lines and communication channels, ensuring clear institutional accountability as implementation begins.
The visit also covered practical implementation readiness, including progress on ethics submissions, protocol finalisation, student recruitment, procurement and hospital engagement, with agreement on next steps ahead of the start of baseline assessments.
Planning for sustainable impact
From 28–30 July, project partners participated in a Sustainable Impact Workshop facilitated by ICARS and the One Health and Development Initiative (OHDI) and their partners Ducit Blue and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana). Bringing together representatives from the Ministry of Health, the University of Botswana, the Botswana Public Health Institute, participating hospitals and other national partners, the workshop applied the Practical Toolkit for Sustainable Impact of AMR Mitigation Interventions to identify context-specific barriers, assumptions and opportunities for long-term impact. Participants worked across the project’s work packages to refine the theory of change and begin developing a sustainability plan to support the institutionalisation and potential scale-up of the IPC interventions beyond the project period.
“Botswana’s commitment to addressing AMR is reflected in the strong collaboration between the Ministry of Health, the University of Botswana, the Botswana Public Health Institute and participating hospitals. During the Sustainable Impact Workshop, we saw these partners come together to examine not only how the IPC interventions will be implemented, but also how they can be embedded within the health system and scaled beyond the initial hospitals. As a Mission Partner, Botswana will bring this locally led experience to the wider ICARS network while continuing to strengthen its national AMR response.”
Dr Mabel Ortiz De Leo, Science Officer, ICARS
Next steps
ICARS looks forward to working closely with its partners in Botswana as the project enters its next phase. The collaboration is a strong example of the kind of locally owned, multi-stakeholder implementation research that can generate actionable evidence for national health systems while contributing to the wider global knowledge base on IPC in comparable settings.
