MOROGORO: Union countries in Tanzania have applauded Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) for a project which trains southern giant pouched rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis.
Speaking on behalf of other envoys, the Head of EU Delegation in Tanzania, Christine Gau said the project run through a Belgian Non-Governmental Organization (APOPO) had has yielded significant life-saving results in many countries around the world.
Ambassador Grau said that Apopo is a unique initiative that has yielded remarkable life-saving results in many countries around the world which have been affected by land explosives.
The EU ambassadors who accompanied Ms Grau are from Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, France Sweden, Germany and Ireland.
Ambassador Grau stated that in addition to visiting the Carbon Centre, they also had the opportunity to visit a project that trains rats to detect landmines and identify Tuberculosis pathogens.
Ambassador Grau stated that the Apopo Project particularly impressed them after being briefed on how these rats, trained in Tanzania, are deployed to various countries around the world, including Cambodia, which have been affected by landmines and caused harm to humans.
Also Read: ‘Employee engagement vital for health, safety policy implementation’
The Apopo Project particularly impressed them after being briefed on how these rats, trained in Tanzania, are deployed to various countries around the world, including Cambodia, which have been affected by landmines and caused harm to people,” Ambassador Grau said.
“This is a unique project that has had a significant impact on many countries around the world thanks to the rats trained by the Apopo Center in Tanzania.” Ambassador Grau said.
Ambassador Grau stated that in addition to visiting the two projects, the ambassadors had the opportunity to speak with university students to get their opinions and understanding of climate change in order to provide them with training and build their capacity to contribute to Tanzania’s development.
Apopo’s Communications Manager Lily Shalloom said that Apopo conducts research and trains African giant pouched rats to detect and identify landmines and explosives, as well as Tuberculosis (TB) pathogens.
Ms Shallom said a total of 161,085 landmines left over during wars have been discovered in various countries around the world, including Mozambique, Angola, and Cambodia, using trained rats equipped with advanced technology to detect and identify buried landmines.
He stated that over 101,333,974 square kilometers of village land contaminated with landmines has been cleared, enabling residents to conduct their activities safely and rescuing 2,265,648 people who were surrounded by the explosives.
The Communications Manager stated that the Apopo project, using trained rats, has successfully screened 971,772 Tuberculosis (TB) samples of which 30,163 samples were detected with the disease pathogens.
This is due to their superior ability to detect TB pathogens in samples that were missed by hospital laboratories. Shallom stated that if the individuals had gone home without being diagnosed and treated, they could have infected over 304,928 more people, since each person with the disease can infect 15 or more per year.
“A TB patient if undetected can infect 15 to 30 people per year. Therefore, if all of these individuals had not received treatment, there was a high probability of them infecting over 304,928 people per year,” stated Shallom.
For his part, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Prof Amandus Muhairwa, in charge of Finance and Administration, said that the ambassadors were satisfied with the university’s work and were therefore willing to continue their partnership as sponsors of various ongoing projects.
“This was an opportunity to showcase our accomplishments and strengthen our partnerships as sponsors, benefiting the nation and the youth who are the ultimate beneficiaries in terms of job creation, which is the goal of many of the projects being implemented at the university,” stated Prof Muhairwa.
Prof Muhairwa said that the university is implementing a landmine detection project involving trained rats, which has brought significant benefits to both the nation and the world in general.
