The 15th Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC) Coordinators and Stakeholders Meeting has taken place at the headquarters of the Africa Union Commission in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) on 28-29th November 2016.
The meeting was organized by PATTEC with the support of the Ethiopian Government as host country, as well as by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Mr Shaukat Abdulrazak, Director of the Division for Africa, Department of Technical Cooperation, IAEA, attended the opening, with other representatives of international and regional organizations.
In his remarks, Mr Abdulrazak thanked the organizers of the PATTEC meeting on behalf of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture and emphasized the importance of technical cooperation support. “The IAEA General Conference has recognized that the creation of tsetse-free zones is a complex and logistically demanding exercise that requires flexible, innovative and adaptable approaches to the provision of technical support,” he said.
The PATTEC Coordination Office Progress Report 2016, presented at the conference summarized the activities carried out during the last year and emphasized the importance of monitoring and evaluation activities.
PATTEC Coordinators from around 22 trypanosomosis[1] affected countries attended the meeting. The Coordinators reported on the progress made in their respective intervention programmes against Tsetse flies and Trypanosomosis since the last Coordinators and Stakeholders Meeting in September 2015 in Ndajema.
“The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), as part of an area-wide integrated pest control approach, maintains its appeal as a unique and environmentally friendly nuclear application for selected species and selected areas,” said Mr. Abdulrazak. “The scarcity of sterile male tsetse production facilities in Africa continues to be the most critical bottleneck to the expanded application of SIT against the tsetse fly,” He said.
The second day of the meeting was devoted to the presentations of international stakeholders, including the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Food and Agriculture Organization, the Centre International de Recherche-Developpement sur l’Elecage en Zone Subhumide (CIRDES) and the IAEA. An open discussion on challenges for sustainable T&T management and recommendations for the way forward followed.
[1] Trypanosomosis is also known as Tsetse Disease. It is transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly and is common to regions where the tsetse fly is found, including South America and the African continent.
The Sterile Insect Technique maintains its appeal as a unique and environmentally friendly nuclear application.