Less than the highest standard and required quality of spraying coverage in Namibia, Botswana and the Comoros has been identified as the key factor pushing up malaria incidents.

The Assistant Minister of Health, Lawrence Ookeditse, made this revelation during the official launch of Botswana's End Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Council in Gaborone.

Ookeditse said the council is an institution founded with a clear purpose to mobilise multi-sectorial leadership, secure sustainable financing and accelerate progress towards eliminating malaria and NTDs in Botswana.

Although efforts are being done at the national and regional levels to eliminate malaria and NTDs by 2030, Ookeditse lamented that household refusals and recurring stockouts of tests, drugs and commodities are impeding indoor residual spraying to reach the 85% target.

"But the Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC) raised the alarm in 2025 over the upsurges across Southern Africa with Namibia reporting six times its 2024 cases. SADC's own annual report names sub-optimal spraying coverage in Namibia, Botswana and the Comoros as a key factor in the region's rise in cases."

In 2018, 16 Heads of State signed the Windhoek Declaration, committing the SADC region to eliminate malaria by 2030, and Botswana is one of the front-line countries of the SADC Elimination Eight Initiative.