This study demonstrates that in colonial Botswana outbreaks of mild forms of smallpox were controlled by traditional methods of treatment, much like in the rest of Africa. As a result, Batswana were reluctant to go for vaccinations against a disease the effects of which they claimed they could withstand. Their attitudes towards smallpox however, changed significantly when the malady assumed pandemic levels and killed many of their kith and kin. A hitherto indifferent population now paid particular attention to health propaganda aimed at controlling and hopefully eradicating the disease. Two factors augured well for the eradication of small in the country. The first was cooperation between the local population and medical authorities in the fight against small pax. The second was the discovery in Britain of a new and effective smallpox vaccine and its subsequent utilization in Botswana in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Finally, the study suggests that valuable lessons may be learnt from this in order to meaningfully deal with the current HIV/Aids pandemic sweeping through Botswana and Africa.
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