JOHANNESBURG, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The South African government confirmed on Sunday that it has received 1.5 million doses of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines from Turkey, a shipment expected to play a key role in the country's nationwide vaccination campaign.
According to local media, the Department of Agriculture said the arrival, delayed by recent Middle East tensions, is now being rapidly integrated into the national distribution network.
The arrival of these vaccines is "another win in our fight against FMD," Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen said. "We are taking decisive action to protect our national herd. Every outbreak will be dealt with swiftly, and we will continue our efforts until South Africa is FMD-free."
This delivery follows the receipt of one million doses from Argentina last week. On Friday, the government officially launched its nationwide vaccination drive to safeguard the livestock industry and the broader agricultural economy.
South Africa is slated to receive millions more doses in the coming months. To ensure long-term supply, the Agricultural Research Council has commenced local production at 20,000 doses per week, with plans to scale output to 200,000 doses per week by 2027.
In early February, the government declared the FMD outbreak a "national disaster." Outbreaks have been confirmed in eight out of nine provinces in South Africa.
According to a recent report by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy, a total of 24,400 FMD cases were reported in domestic livestock across the country in 2025. ■