"South Africa received its first large consignment of high-potency Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccines on arrival at O.R. Tambo International Airport on Saturday, marking the start of a nationwide rollout to protect the country's livestock sector. "We've been working around the clock to make sure we could get these vaccines here as quickly as possible," said South African Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen from Kempton Park. "To the farmers of South Africa, I want to say very clearly that help is on the way. We know that many of you have suffered tremendously over the last weeks and months, but we now have the tools that we need," he persisted. Steenhuisen described the delivery as a milestone in the first comprehensive plan in 30 years to reposition South Africa in its fight against FMD. "This is the first million batch. Now this is nowhere near how much we need to be able to vaccinate 80 percent of the national herd by December. But there's more on the way from Argentina and, of course, from other suppliers around the world," the minister reported. "These vaccines will give us an opportunity to get ahead of it." He also linked the vaccination campaign to economic recovery and export ambitions. "We hope in as short a time as possible to reopen South Africa's markets for red meat products around the world. For far too long, far too many important markets have been closed to us because of our FMD status. This begins the pathway towards prosperity, opportunity and expansion." Health workers were seen organising and packing the vaccine doses for distribution as authorities prepare for the national rollout aimed at stabilising the livestock industry and restoring international confidence in South Africa's agricultural exports. The shipment of one million doses, produced by Argentina's Biogenesis Bago, represents Phase 1 of a 10-Year Eradication Strategy designed to vaccinate South Africa's herd of more than 14 million cattle."