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Geneva office for Tanzania’s landmine rats

A HeroRat with its trainer, Mr Koba Sezari, after a landmine detection training session near Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro recently. PHOTO|SONGA WA SONGA

What you need to know:

  • Geneva, which hosts  some of the major actors in the field of humanitarian mine action such as the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) as well as Tuberculosis research institutes of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, stands out as a strategic hub

Dar es Salaam. Tuberculosis and landmine detection by use of rats in Tanzania is now headed for a global stage with the opening of a new office in Geneva, Switzerland to further the project.

According to a statement released yesterday by Apopo, an international non-profit organisation that implements the unique project in the country, the office which opened early this month will place the organisation at the centre of international demining efforts and world health.

Geneva, which hosts  some of the major actors in the field of humanitarian mine action such as the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) as well as Tuberculosis research institutes of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, stands out as a strategic hub.

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The new office, the Apopo Foundation, aims to support the organisation’s overall global activities by strengthening its network and financial resources whilst making sure it is now placed at the forefront of international mine action efforts and international health in Geneva, the statement said.

The Geneva office will be headed by executive director Kjersti Tokle Fjellhaug, supported by administration and fundraising officer Anna Bouchier.

Now known as HeroRats, the African giant pouched rats were initially hunted from the bushes. Later, a breeding programme was launched by Apopo to ensure sustainability of the project which is implemented in collaboration with the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) based in Morogoro.

To date, Apopo has cleared over 18 million square meters of contaminated land, and destroyed over 48,000 landmines and bombs in six countries, helping over 900,000 people to get back on to their productive land, according to the organisation.

Also, the HeroRats have identified over 7,600 tuberculosis patients initially missed by conventional lab tests by 35 clinics in Tanzania and Mozambique.

This has potentially halted over 25,000 further infections, and increased detection rates by over 45 per cent in partnered clinics.

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