An African Union delegation has visited Botswana to assess how the country is managing one of the livestock sector’s most persistent threats, touring the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Operation Centre in Gaborone as part of a broader continental review of agricultural policy and food security strategies.
The delegation was received at the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) by its Chairman, Gideon Molefe, and Deputy Director Nkosiyabo Moyo, who outlined the centre’s role in coordinating disease surveillance, rapid response and cross-sector collaboration during outbreaks. The NEOC brings together specialists from multiple fields to ensure a coherent, coordinated approach to FMD management, a disease that poses a direct threat to Botswana’s cattle sector and by extension, its export markets and food security.
Botswana Defence Force’s Captain Baathodi Gaonyadiwe briefed the delegation on the operations room’s capabilities, explaining how advanced reporting systems enable veterinary teams to monitor potential outbreaks in real time, deploy field officers swiftly and roll out targeted vaccination strategies in affected areas.
A less expected but equally important dimension of the centre’s work drew particular interest, the psychosocial support extended to farmers whose livestock are destroyed during disease control operations. Social worker Kebame Keeletsang explained that grief and trauma counselling is provided to both farmers and officers to help them manage the emotional toll of livestock losses, an acknowledgement that effective disease management extends beyond the veterinary and into the human.
AU delegation members noted that Botswana’s integrated approach of combining rigorous veterinary controls with community support illustrates how strong national systems can advance broader continental goals around agricultural development and food safety. They commended the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture for its proactive disease management and encouraged greater knowledge sharing across African countries to reinforce regional resilience.
