28 Aug 2023

Africa Centre for Disease Control director general, Dr Jean Kaseya has commended the Botswana for its accomplishments in healthcare governance.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of the 73rd session of the World Health Organisation (WHO) regional committee in Gaborone yesterday, Dr Kaseya said President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi’s visionary leadership to tackle the country’s health issues was a feat that the rest of the world could learn from.

“I have learnt that Botswana is the first country to have achieved a 70 per cent COVID-19 vaccination rate, and this is due to President Masisi’s strong leadership in allocation of resources and procuring vaccines and other commodities,” he said.

He noted that Botswana had also dedicated around two per cent of its Gross Domestic Product for research and development.

“This is why Botswana is one of the leaders in terms of manufacturing of animal vaccines,” he said.

Dr Kaseya further applauded government for affording its citizens inexpensive access to all healthcare services.

“As Africans we praise President Masisi for this noble initiative and this is something that needs to be taught to the rest of the world,” he said.

Moreover, Dr Kaseya pledged his support to President Masisi if elected the next president of the African Union in February 2024.

“If you are elected as the next AU president, you automatically become the chair of the committee of Heads of State leading Africa CDC, and I will be of service to advise and guide you as you lead the continent,” he said.

He said there was an urgent need for Africa to be prepared for the next pandemic, and that there were two major agendas that needed to be addressed.

“The first one is the local manufacturing agenda; Botswana is leading in animal vaccine manufacturing, but we need to see how Africa can be independent by manufacturing its own human vaccines,” he said.
He said the second agenda was funding for pandemic preparedness, prevention and response.

“Africa was the only continent which did not have a regional approach during the first round of the pandemic fund, this is why out of 55 countries, only five nations got granted the fund,” he said.

He said it was imperative that in future the continent should have a strong regional approach in order to give all African states a fighting chance to gain funding.

For his part, Minister of Health, Dr Edwin Dikoloti said government aimed to use the regional committee meeting meaningfully to engage in global discussions on enhancing equitable resource allocation.

He commended President Masisi for his efforts in strengthening collaborations to better tackle the ever increasing global health challenges.

Dr Dikoloti also praised WHO director general, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus and the regional director of WHO Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, saying they were crucial stakeholders in solving various health issues in Africa.

“It is both an honour and pleasure for my country to have been accorded the opportunity to host WHO RC73, and we hope to have a fruitful session as we navigate ways to address and solve the various health challenges in the region,” he stated. ENDS