A shared national urgency

Mmegi Editor | Friday February 5, 2021 11:05

President Mokgweetsi Masisi has taken the lead, using addresses to frontline workers and to media during a working visit to Namibia, to disclose that aggressive efforts are being made to procure the lifesaving jabs for Batswana.

What HE has done thus far, is to attempt to calm national unease by disclosing government’s commitment to bringing the vaccines over and naturally, Batswana are eager to see the next logical step, which is an actual delivery at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport.

More importantly, however, is something that Masisi mentioned when he addressed the frontline workers. Botswana has made a downpayment to the World Health Organisation’s COVAX vaccine arrangement, under which doses will be provided to vaccinate at least 20% of the population.

The African Union has also secured another 270 million doses for Africa, while private sector entities such as MTN have stepped up to provide millions more for countries that include Botswana.

Critically however, no date has been set for the delivery of any of these pledged vaccines into the arms of eagerly waiting Batswana. Which is why it was important that Masisi note, as he did, that the country is pursuing bilateral arrangements with manufacturers and suppliers, over and above the deals secured at continent-level.

For Batswana, therefore, the vaccine has become a waiting game, one that while political will exists, may not entirely be in the hands of political leaders as the entire world jostles for jabs.

What is critical as we wait, is to ensure that we have the regulatory, legal and infrastructure resources and frameworks in place to make sure any deals secured bilaterally are made effective in the shortest amount of time.

Securing a bilateral or continent-wide deal is one thing, but manufacturers require certain indemnities and disclaimers from countries’ before supplying the vaccines. There are approvals required to be signed at various levels, which involve agencies like the Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority, while other entities such as the Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation are critical in understanding the disease burden and where vaccines are required first.

Even after this, a clearly laid out vaccination plan is important, that ensures that the expensively procured jabs do not expire on shelves waiting for distribution and that they land in the right arms and that the beneficiaries are carefully accounted for and monitored post-jab. South Africa, for example, has rolled out a national IT-based programme to account for each dose and monitor citizens for their next and final dose.

Masisi has said government will piggy-back on the country’s enduring success with its child immunisation campaign and while this is logical, clearly more tweaking will be required.

As we wait, and as we continue to adhere to all protocols, it is important we prepare ourselves for perhaps the most important vaccine campaign in the country’s history.

Today’s thought

“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today” ― H. Jackson Brown Jr