Health services Good health services are available. It is easy to find private doctors in Gaborone. For serious cases there is a private hospital with western standards. For all practical purposes, Gaborone is free from malaria. Malaria is a risk in the north of the country, especially in the Chobe and Okavango areas, but while living in Gaborone there is no need to take malaria prophylaxis.
Water is very precious in Botswana, a near-desert country, and great care is taken with it.
The water supply in Gaborone and other towns is quite safe. In guide books you will read all sorts of dire warnings about the elaborate precautions one should take with food. No doubt in many parts of the world this is sound advice. Exercise the same caution you would when buying food in a western country, of course. Mind you, when you come to a new country you are exposed to a range of unfamiliar bugs, and there is always a risk of stomach upsets.