Africa-Press – Botswana. Botswana is well positioned to be a major player in the animal health field on the African continent, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi told a World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) delegation monday.
Welcoming the delegation, led by WOAH director general, Dr Monique Eloit to the Office of the President, Dr Masisi stated that Botswana had the requisite credentials for investment in animal health research and vaccine development.
He told the WOAH officials, who are in Gaborone for the organisation’s 25th Regional Commission for Africa conference, that Botswana was ‘an open, living laboratory in the field.’
“You should consider co-investment in research and development in Botswana. We are on a serious drive to invest in the improvement of the quality of our genetics and animal livestock products.
The quality of nutrition, environmental stewardship to ensure that what animals consume is good and ultimately good for human consumption and we could invest in a clear verification process,” Dr Masisi said.
Saying Botswana also boasted a developed human capital with more being cultivated through initiatives such as the top achievers programme, the President encouraged WOAH to utilise local skilled labour.
Another plus for Botswana, Dr Masisi said, was the recent ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, which according to him had yielded the biggest trading bloc in the world.
“One of the areas Botswana has comparative advantage is in the services in the veterinary medicine field.
We will be setting up quasi-government companies, promoting the development of private companies to venture into Africa and the world to help avert the spread of contagious viruses,” he said.
The President said the COVID-19 pandemic had taught Botswana to work on linkages between animal and human health.
“We have ventured as a result of our response to COVID-19, into trying to find synergies for the enhancement of the correlation between animal and human health, and the production of vaccines and therapeutics, including the tracing of disease burdens that may be influenced by one or the other and interventions to avert such,” Dr Masisi said.
For her part, Dr Eloit said Botswana was ‘a good example for many countries’ and concurred with President Masisi that conditions were good for WOAH to collaborate with the country on improving the efficiency of veterinary services.
Regional representative for Africa Dr Karim Tounkara, Regional Commission for Africa president Dr Honore Nlemba and Dr Moetapele Letshwenyo, the sub-regional representative for Southern Africa accompanied Dr Eloit on the courtesy call.
The WOAH delegation is also scheduled to visit Botswana Meat Commission and Botswana Vaccine Institute as well as to have meetings with ministers of health and agriculture.
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