20 Nov 2019

Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness are currently working towards reviewing the law  regulating medicines. 

Giving a keynote address at the launch of the Antibiotic Awareness Week held at Medie on November 19, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Jimmy Opelo said the improved law was expected to bring major changes in the way general medicines were being supplied.  

The law would prohibit the use of antibiotics solely for the purpose of promoting animal growth, which had become a common practice by some farmers especially in the poultry sector, he said.

Mr Opelo said, ‘Some commonly used medicines such as Terramycin and Sulphonamides which are very important in treating common diseases will no longer be freely available in shelves but will only be supplied under prescriptions.’

The law, he said, would also help curb the exacerbated misuse of antibiotics in medicine agriculture and food security.

“The changes may at first seem inconvenient, but they are absolutely necessary to preserve efficacy of antibiotics for the benefit of both animals and humans,” said Mr Opelo. He explained that it was the responsibility of the government through his ministry to guard against any form of abuse of Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR).

“The consequences of AMR are already being felt in the form of super drugs that haunt care system resulting with millions of people dying around the world due to misuse of such,” he said.

The acting deputy permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr Letlhogile Modisa, said in an effort to curb the appalling state of affair, farmers should seriously consider preventing their livestock from acquiring diseases by following the ministry calendar of events on how and when vaccinations of animals were to be applied. 

Meanwhile, Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority’s chief executive officer, Dr Stephen Ghanie also emphasised the need to have medicines regulated to avoid situations whereby drugs were being abused through under or over applications without taking precautions on how it should be administered.

The trend, Dr Ghanie highlighted was more prevalent on the use of Sulphur and Terramycin on livestock as well as the dispensing of medicines over the counter.

Botswana Vaccine Institute (BVI) general manager, Dr Onkabetse Matlho, attributed the increasing trend to some business operators who have the tendency of ignoring issues of great importance for the purpose of making of profit.

”We are bound to operate with very strict measures, where antibiotics could only be supplied or administered through doctors’ prescription, similar to arrangements in human medical setup’ said Dr Matlho.

World Health Organisation (WHO) representative Mr Moagi Gaborone said farmers needed to be cautious against the use of antibiotics to avoid situations where human health was compromised.

Mr Gaborone also talked about the need for research to help come up with new vaccines that might complement the existing ones.

Some farmers among them, Mr Alfred Kebawetse, decried the fact that, it was disturbing that the decision had been taken without due consideration of the situation on the ground, forgetting the fact that the department was under resourced and operating with shortage of doctors and veterinary officers including transport challenges.

The chairperson of Kweneng Beef Farmers Association, Mr Jeffrey Matsila shared Mr Kebawetse’s sentiments that although the decision was a great move to protect human health, it overlooked the fact that the department was under resourced.

“Let us be advised on contingency measures that can be applied in the meantime as contingency measures to avoid livestock mortality,” he said. Ends