In what has been described by the authorities in the Ngamiland District as a “responsible corporate citizenry”, tourism outfit, Chobe Holdings this past week helped health officials to access the remote Xaxaba Village for the polio vaccination drive targeting children under the age of seven. Xaxaba village, along other remote villages in the Okavango is not reachable by road prompting Chobe Holdings to offer a helping hand through the provision of donated air transport services. The services were offered by the company’s air wing, Safari-Air.
The health ministry campaign ran from the 23rd to 26th February 2023 in all districts across the country while the second round of the campaign took place last week.
“This is a public health response to the circulating Vaccine Derived Poliovirus Type 2 (cVOPV2) that was detected in the country through environmental surveillance,as has been previously reported . The vaccination campaign will help pirevent the spread of this virus to vulnerable children since unvaccinated children are at high risk of polio infection”, reads part of a statement issued by the health ministry in mid-February 2023.
Lempeditse Odumetse, Group Managing Director of Chobe, in a statement said “Botho, is a philosophy that promotes the common good of society and includes humanness as an essential element of the human condition. This is a core and fundamental value of our organization and guides us to providing a greater good for the community at large. These children are the future of this country and we want them to have access to appropriate medical services. Assisting Government and its Ministries, when asked, is not new to us and we will continue to assist where and when possible.” Chobe Holdings owns and operates twelve eco-tourism lodges and camps on leased land in northern Botswana and the Caprivi Strip in Namibia with a combined capacity of 317 beds under the brands of Desert and Delta Safaris, Chobe Game Lodge and Ker and Downey Botswana.
