PATTEC CONSULTATION WORKSHOP ON STRATEGIES, TECHNICAL ADVANCES AND PARTNERSHIPS IN T&T MANAGEMENT

LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA 12 September 2014 – about 60 National Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC) Coordinators and focal points from 17 African countries, representatives of international organizations, research institutions, private and public partners attended a consultation workshop on Strategies, Recent Technical Advances and Mechanisms for Creating Effective Partnerships in Tsetse and Trypanosomosis (T&T) Management held in Livingstone, Zambia, 8-11 September, 2014.

It was officially opened by Honorable Luxon Kazabu, Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Livestock of Zambia, who in his speech informed the participants that Zambia has budgeted around USD 4 million for Sequential Aerosol Technique (SAT) operations in Western Zambia, which was ended on 2 September 2014.

The AU-PATTEC Coordinator informed the participants that are the first workshop to discuss issues related to strategies, technical advances and partnership in T&T management with all stakeholders. He said AU-PATTEC would like the participants to be more committed in order to reduce in the burden of the scourge of T&T from the continent in the shortest time. He urged the participants to come up with relevant recommendations to fast track the Implementation of the PATTEC Initiative.

The workshop was organized against the background that in spite of the numerous efforts over the past ten decades to address the T&T challenge on the African continent, the problem is still very much visible in many T&T affected countries.
This is in contrast to the fact that there have recent technical advances in the field of Tsetse control and Trypanosomosis management which should be translated into more effective programmes in future with commitment of policy makers and technical personnel. The aerial spraying operations in Botswana which benefited greatly from the advent of Global Positioning System (GPS) and its associated Geographical Information System (GIS) technology; and recent developments in remote sensing, population genetics, aerial release techniques, bait technology, T&T surveillance, diagnostics and management serve as good examples of such advances.
The workshop was designed to bring together various partners/stakeholders and field implementers and aims at sharing practical knowledge, information and experience regarding new technologies and strategies in the T&T domain and to make recommendations that will help us achieve our main objectives of reducing the burden of T&T and create T&T free areas that can be sustainably utilized for agricultural productivity.

The themes of the workshop included Policies, strategies and standards, T&T Management structures, New Technical Advances and Lessons learned from field operations.
After three days’ deliberations, the workshop has come up with the following recommendations for action by all stakeholders as per their respective responsibilities.
Considering the continued socio-economic impact of the tsetse and trypanosomosis challenge on the African continent;
Recognizing the diversity and high number of competent partners and stakeholders in the T&T domain;
Realising the need for a coherent multi-stakeholder partnership framework for effective and efficient management of the T&T challenge;
Considering the weak link between research and policy makers in the T&T domain;
Cognisant of the availability of new technical advances and strategies which can be translated into more effective programmes for the management of the T&T challenge;
The workshop recommends that:
1. T&T research results should be availed by partners and national offices in order to allow AU-PATTEC Coordination Office create a data repository at continental level to facilitate accessibility by all partners
2. The PATTEC Coordination Office should facilitate the formulation of guidelines for sustainable land use management of tsetse freed areas
3. PATTEC Coordination Office and countries must work together to strength regional level intervention mechanisms through collaboration with Regional Economic Communities (RECs)
4. T&T countries should use M&E tools to evaluate the socio-economic benefits/success before and after an intervention
5. Lessons learnt from the implementation of the PATTEC programme supported by African Development Bank (ADB) should be disseminated to other countries to inform better programme formulation and implementation
6. The AU-PATTEC Coordination Office’s initiative of accelerating the formation of effective partnerships in the management of T&T is a welcome development. As a starting point, the AU-PATTEC Coordination Office and Member States affected by T&T should establish an open source database of potential partners including their profiles.
7. The PATTEC Coordination Office should work on the definitions of terminology related to T&T and disseminate to all stakeholders in an effort to communicate consistent messages on T&T management T&T countries should build a more complete picture of drug resistance using research to encourage rational drug use
8. Studies be undertaken to better understand role of Non Tsetse Transmitted Trypanosomosis (NTTAT) in disease spread and maintenance

For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dinfo@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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