South Africa declares foot and mouth disease a national disaster

After President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address classifying the foot and mouth disease as a National Disaster, a Government Gazette was issued on Friday declaring a National Disaster. The Red Meat Industry Services and the Foot and Mouth Disease Industry Coordinating Council (FMD ICC) have welcomed the announcement.

Dr Elias Sithole said on Friday in his capacity as the Head of the National Disaster Management Centre that after having considered reports submitted on the foot and mouth disease outbreak in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, and the Western Cape provinces, and the impact and magnitude the outbreak has, or may have. “I hereby give notice that, in terms of section 23(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002), I regard the foot and mouth disease outbreak as a disaster and, in terms of section 23(6) of the Act, I classify the disaster as a national disaster.”

Dewald Olivier, the CEO of Red Meat Industry Services, said that during the State of the Nation Address, the President confirmed that foot-and-mouth disease has been classified as a national disaster.

“We welcome this recognition that FMD poses a serious threat to food security and the long-term sustainability of the industry. The national disaster classification enables coordination through the department of  Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) disaster management structures, and effective implementation will require both state authority and industry capacity working together,” Olivier said.

Olivier added that this is an opportunity for the Ministerial Task Team, the Industry Coordination Council, and the Department of Agriculture to operate at the level of alignment and accountability needed to bring this crisis under control. “Slaughter numbers are down by five percent between August and November, and beef exports are down by 26 percent from June to December. These figures have likely worsened since then. Not only does this export decline represent a major loss in foreign income and market access, but it also brings into clear focus the severe losses already felt at farm level and across the wider value chain.”

Olivier said that the priority now is execution - vaccine acquisition, a structured rollout, and clear operational coordination. “The cost of delay is already measurable, and immediate action is required to prevent a catastrophe.”

The FMD ICC said that the declaration of foot and mouth disease (FMD) as a National Disaster marks a significant and necessary step in responding to the current outbreak and the risk it poses to South Africa’s livestock sector, food security, rural livelihoods, and export markets. “This declaration does not mean that the situation is out of control. Rather, it enables the government to respond with greater speed, coordination, and resource alignment. It provides the legal framework to mobilise additional resources, coordinate national and provincial efforts, streamline procurement of vaccines and biosecurity materials, and strengthen cooperation between agriculture, trade, policing, transport, and disaster management authorities.”

The FMD ICC added that it is important to clarify that the classification of FMD as a National Disaster is not the same as the National State of Disaster declared during Covid-19 under section 27 of the Disaster Management Act.

“The National Disaster classification supports coordination and resource mobilisation, but it does not bypass the statutory framework already governing animal disease control. Similarly, farmers, feedlots, and dairies may not independently procure and administer vaccines for voluntary, pre-emptive vaccination unless and until the Minister enacts a scheme under section 10 of the Animal Diseases Act and the necessary notices are gazetted,” it said. 

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