Gaborone, Botswana - 17 December 2020: The Ministry of Health and Wellness, in partnership with the World Health Organization Country Office (WHO), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the CDC Foundation, launched Botswana’s first Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2017 Country Report. GATS is a global standard for systematic monitoring of Tobacco use (smoke and smokeless) by adults and for tracking key Tobacco control indicators in the age group 15 years and above. The study was carried out by the above-mentioned partners with the support of Statistics Botswana and Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International.

Tobacco use is a major global public health challenge and a leading preventable risk factor for non-communicable diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and chronic lung disease. It contributes significantly to increased health care costs and loss of economic productivity. GATS provide countries with the mechanism to monitor both international and national targets, goals and strategies. GATS Botswana provides important information to stakeholders and decision makers to protect the health of the public. Comprehensive implementation of the WHO MPOWER measures including continued monitoring of these measures can help further reduce the burden of tobacco-related diseases in Botswana.

The launch was done virtually by the Minister of Health and Wellness, Honourable Dr Edwin Dikoloti. It was attended by ministry officials and representatives from WHO Botswana, WHO Regional Office for Africa, CDC, CDC Foundation, CTFK, other partners and stakeholders, including non-government organizations and parastatals. The Minister thanked the partners and asked them to continue and grow the partnership. He assured all that the Government of Botswana will put the evidence to good use and endeavor to carry out the survey every five years in order to gauge progress and inform policy and strategy.

In her remarks, the WHO Botswana Officer in Charge, Dr Juliet Bataringaya indicated that WHO continues to provide variety of packages and normative guidance to help countries counter industry interference as they protect public health. “The MPOWER package helps countries survey the tobacco situation to enable them implement effective strategies such as taxation, public education, protection of people from tobacco smoke and others”, Dr Bataringaya said. The GATS report entails information on respondents’ background characteristics, tobacco use (smoking and smokeless), cessation, secondhand smoke, economics, media, knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards tobacco use. GATS also assists countries including Botswana to fulfill obligations under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to generate comparable data within and across countries. Dr Bataringaya assured Botswana of WHO's continued support for tobacco control.