News Date : 22 October, 2025
BUAN Hosts One Health Concept Update Meeting
The Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN), in collaboration with the Consortium for One Health in Southern Africa (COHESA), hosted a One Health Breakfast Meeting on 22 October 2025 in Gaborone. The event brought together representatives from government ministries, international organizations, academia, and research institutions to deliberate on strategies for advancing the One Health agenda in Botswana.
In his opening remarks, Professor Ketlhatlogile Mosepele, Vice Chancellor of BUAN, emphasized the importance of adopting the One Health approach as a strategic imperative for Botswana’s public health, food security, and sustainable development. He highlighted BUAN’s leadership role in promoting healthy ecosystems and animal health and called for harmonized policies, improved coordination, and shared accountability among stakeholders to achieve national and regional health goals. Following the Vice Chancellor’s remarks, Professor Flora Meluenberg led the discussions and presented findings from a Net-Mapping exercise conducted by the COHESA team. The exercise provided valuable insights into stakeholder linkages, highlighting key influencers in One Health decision-making and collaboration across sectors.
Adding to the day’s deliberations, Professor Kgosimore delivered a comprehensive presentation on the integration of One Health principles into academic curricula and research. He emphasized the need to embed interdisciplinary approaches within teaching and training programmes at BUAN and other national institutions to build a new generation of professionals equipped to address complex health challenges at the human–animal–environment interface. His presentation sparked engaging discussions on capacity building, curriculum development, and cross-sectoral research collaborations. In contextualizing One Health Implementation in Botswana.
In Botswana, the One Health (OH) approach is implemented within the framework of the Libreville Declaration (LD), which emphasizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. The LD provides a foundation for assessing how the entire environmental space influences human well-being and serves as a key instrument for operationalizing One Health principles. Stakeholders responsible for enforcing the LD agenda play a central role in shaping Botswana’s emerging One Health legal and policy framework.
Although comprehensive documentation of the national One Health framework remains limited, Botswana demonstrates evidence of strong governance mechanisms through its implementation of various regional and international commitments. These are coordinated through key line ministries to address One Health challenges and ensure preparedness during public health emergencies. Nonetheless, there is a pressing need to document holistic governance structures to promote a shared understanding and cohesive action among stakeholders.
Looking ahead, an assessment of the One Health landscape is crucial to evaluate sectoral performance, identify capacity gaps, and address systemic barriers to effective multi-sectoral collaboration in the management of One Health issues across the country.
In closing, participants of the meeting reaffirmed their commitment to proactive engagement and collective action toward achieving a resilient, sustainable, and health-secure Botswana — underscoring that One Health is not an option, but a critical necessity.