Gaborone, Botswana – Eight Southern African countries – Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe are joining forces to prevent, detect and respond to disease outbreaks before they spread to communities.
The three-year, USD 35.8 million initiative, Strengthening One Health Disease Surveillance and Response in Southern Africa, coordinated by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa – Nairobi Hub seeks to strengthen early detection, equip health workers, and integrates human, animal, and environmental health to address climate-driven disease threats.
“The health and economic risks from disease outbreaks don’t respect borders,” said Dr Dick Chamla, Pandemic Fund Portfolio Manager and Programme Area Manager for Emergency Preparedness, WHO AFRO and Nairobi Hub Coordinator. “This initiative gives countries the tools to respond early, protect lives, livelihoods, and regional stability.”
Since January 2025, the eight participating countries have launched implementation activities through establishment of national steering committees to oversee project governance, selection of national delivery partners, mapping of high-risk areas, and initiating activities to strengthen surveillance, lab and health worker capacities.
To consolidate progress across countries and catalyze impact over the next two years, WHO is convening the project’s first face-to-face meeting across participating countries through a two-day forum in Botswana. During this forum, stakeholders across the eight countries will share initial progress, promote synergies between country workplans, solidify country ownership, and strengthen subregional communities of practice around the project thematics.
Building trust across borders is central to the project’s success. Technical solutions alone cannot deliver sustainable impact without strong relationships, shared accountability, and continuous dialogue between countries and sectors. These partnerships underpin rapid, coordinated action when outbreaks strike.
“For us in Botswana, it is a privilege to host this gathering and stand with our neighbours in strengthening our shared health security,” said Dr Fabian Ndenzako, WHO Representative to Botswana. “Our Health security resilience depends on the resilience of our neighbours. When one country detects pathogens early, all benefit. When one laboratory confirms results faster, every country shortens the distance between warning and action.”
Beyond outbreak preparedness, the project aims to strengthen systems, reduce both human and economic costs of health emergencies, and reinforce Southern Africa’s capacity to protect its people, borders, and economies.