Governments

APOPO is pleased to announce that the Belgian Development Corporation Ministry officially approved APOPO as a Belgium Non-Governmental Organization or NGO. APOPO received the official designation after a long application process whereby APOPO was evaluated based on multiple standards. Through this process we were required to show sound leadership and governance, efficiency of implementation, as well as our technological and financial liability. Furthermore, we were asked to prove our social and economic impact with respect for the values of gender equality and environment stewardship.

One-hundred-twenty-seven (127) States took part in the Summit with over 40 represented at a high political level. In total over 1,000 delegates took part in what stands as one of the largest gatherings ever of States and activists dedicated to ending the suffering caused by anti-personnel mines. HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium, Honorary President of APOPO, and APOPO Founder, Bart Weetjens, were both in attendance.

APOPO and the mine detection rats were the subject of a long discussion of Tanzanian Parliament last week! From the article: "Mr. Masoud brought up the HeroRATs and wanted to know what the government had done in recognition of the efforts of the SUA experts who discovered the usefulness of the rats."

The International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) held a five-day workshop on peace and security, in Kampala, Uganda April 21st -25th, 2008. Christophe Cox presented a proposal for APOPO to be a major part of the demining activities that the ICGLR has planned along the boarder zones of the Great Lakes Region. The demining efforts would trace the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, stretching all the way to the tip of Sudan. The conference is expected to address the proposals submitted later this year.

APOPO showcased the TB project to the scientific community at Tanzania’s regional conference of the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) hosted jointly by UNESCO and International Union of Geological Science (IUGS) in Ngurdoto, Arusha May 9-10, 2008. Harold Mangesho and Stephen Mwimwanzi, along with 2 HeroRATs, represented the APOPO TB project well and were delighted at the opportunity to show the guest of honor, President Jakaya Kikwete how sniffer rats detect positive TB samples.