21 Aug 2021

Vice President (VP), Mr Slumber Tsogwane says the fight against COVID-19 requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders.

Receiving a consignment of 81 900 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses donated by the US government in Gaborone, Friday, Mr Tsogwane said ‘the vaccine is not the only weapon against the pandemic. We have received among others Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and put in place health protocols that must be observed at all times to deal with the pandemic. Together we can fight the common enemy’.

The VP said the government was grateful of the support rendered by the US government in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the donation was not just a generous gift, but rather a commitment aimed at saving humanity. Mr Tsogwane emphasised that no one must be left behind in fighting the pandemic. “We must all play a part,” he said.

He said the two governments enjoyed long standing bilateral relations. “The United States has always been a reliable development partner. It is therefore not surprising for them to be supporting our fight against COVID-19,” Mr Tsogwane said.

He said the arrival of the Pfizer vaccine would go a long way in increasing the number of people who would be fully vaccinated. The donation, he said followed President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi’s appeal for assistance.

“We are grateful for the US government for coming to our rescue at the crucial time. A friend in need is a friend indeed,” he said, adding that every dose received brought  hope towards saving life.
Mr Tsogwane said the country’s vaccine rollout had been affected by insufficient supply from global vaccine manufacturers, stressing that owing to inadequate supply of COVID-19 vaccines, the African continent was lagging behind in its vaccination rollout programme.

“On behalf of the government and the people of Botswana, I wish to further commend the US government for their assistance since the beginning of the pandemic for the donations such as the P56 million towards mitigating health and socio economic effects of COVID-19 for the people of Botswana, donation of PPE and strengthening of health surveillance system,” he said.

Mr Tsogwane said the US government also donated a further US$7.5 million for COVID-19 response and vaccine rollout among others, adding that the country remained grateful for the gesture.
The Vice President also thanked UNICEF for its relentless efforts in ensuring the consignments arrived on time.

Meanwhile, the US Ambassador, Mr Craig Cloud said the donation of Pfizer vaccine doses was part of the Biden-Harris administration’s global efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr Craig said President Joe Biden had also announced that the US government would purchase an additional 500 million vaccines to be distributed to low and middle income countries.

As for the shipment of the Pfizer vaccine, Mr Cloud said the US government worked closely with the African Union, Africa CDC and Gavi COVAX to determine how the vaccines would be allocated.  He said like the US, Botswana had faced many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and with the donation, the country would be one step closer to defeating the coronavirus. He said the vaccine would go beyond protecting Batswana from the COVID-19 virus, as it will go a long way in rebuilding the country’s economy.

To date, Mr Cloud said, the US government had contributed US$12.4 million to the fight the pandemic in Botswana. “The funds have been used to construct COVID-19 isolation facilities, improve emergency supply chains and address HIV related COVID-19 issues,” he said.

He said the US had also donated and shipped more than 110 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to 60 countries. Mr Cloud said the disease does not respect borders, gender, ethnicity, financial status or politics, hence the need to continuously working side by side to overcome it. Ends