| | FEBRUARY 2013 In this issue: -
APOPO ranks #11 on The Global Journal Top 100 NGOs list -
Presidential honor for APOPO's researcher! -
APOPO Partners with Local Group to Improve Follow Up -
APOPO Begins TB Operations in Mozambique -
Mine Detection Rats commence training and detection work in Angola
|  | APOPO ranks #11 on The Global Journal Top 100 NGOs list
The Global Journal has published its 2013 list of the ' Top 100 NGOs', and APOPO is ranked 11 overall. The organization also features on the top three lists for the best NGOs in terms of innovation and in the peace-building sector. The Global Journal is a print and online publication based in Geneva and New York that covers the issues and players shaping global governance today. For survey and ranking purposes, the magazine defined NGOs as operational or advocacy focused non-profit organizations active at the local, national or international level. The 2013 list has representation of NGOs from 27 countries, selected from a pool of around 450 organizations based on three key criteria: impact, innovation and sustainability. APOPO is honored to be counted among an incredible group of worthy organizations, all working towards solving the world’s most complex issues. As the organization further grows, we hope to bring our life-saving work to even more communities around the world and truly deepen our impact on the lives of those affected by landmines and Tuberculosis. |  | Presidential honor for APOPO's researcher! Dr. Georgies Mgode of APOPO's Tuberculosis Research Center in Morogoro was awarded the Invention and Scientific Research Medal by Tanzania's President, Jakaya Kikwete.
The president awarded 40 Tanzanians for exemplary service to the nation; the ceremony was broadcast across the nation and took place in Dar Es Salaam. The president thanked the awardees for their contribution to humanity. Dr. Mgode connected to APOPO through Sokoine University of Agriculture, and has been with the TB operations since the very beginning of the program. One of the driving forces behind APOPO's innovative techniques and research, Dr. Mgode helped TB operations grow in leaps and bounds.
|  | APOPO Partners with Local Group to Improve Follow Up APOPO has entered a partnership with MKUTA in order to increase patient notification to 90% by the end of 2012. APOPO collects human sputum samples from 15 health centers, the majority of which are located in Dar Es Salaam. These health centers test the samples for Tuberculosis before passing them on to APOPO for second line screening by trained rats. The rate of TB transmission is cause for concern in highly populated areas such as Dar Es Salaam, where 418 in 100,000 people have the disease. MKUTA is a national club of former TB patients who support APOPO’s patient follow up. Once APOPO’s lab has confirmed the positive samples, these patients must be notified so that treatment at the local hospitals is administered. Patients often leave out important contact information on registration forms at the testing sites which make it difficult for the hospital to notify them. MKUTA’s volunteers support the staff in these centers in checking each form for completion once the patient has registered. Once APOPO submits the list of positive samples to the hospital, MKUTA volunteers call or visit the patient to ensure they are aware of their status. They also make sure the patients stick to the treatment regimen and complete the schedule. APOPO Tanzania TB Program Manager Negussie Beyene, “Finding additional TB cases alone is like clapping with one hand but it becomes a complete success story when it is followed by treatment of all such cases. MKUTA volunteers are bridging this gap.” |  | APOPO Begins TB Operations in Mozambique Tuberculosis Operations in Maputo, Mozambique begin this month. Staff and equipment are all in place for the start of APOPO’s new arm of TB operations. For the first phase of operations, ten HeroRATs will analyze over 560 samples of human sputum per week. Local staff from the country’s capital city of Maputo, have already started working with the animals. The staff was trained at APOPO’s TB headquarters and research facility in Morogoro, Tanzania, by a team of senior lab technicians and animal handlers, before they were sent to work in the Maputo facility. APOPO is currently partnered with eight local health centers in Mozambique which will provide the samples. The rats will serve as second line screening for the centers, which check for TB under a microscope in the labs of their facilities. The organization expects to significantly increase the number of analyzed samples in 2013. This is APOPO’s second location for TB operations and marks the first time the program has expanded outside of Tanzania. Mozambique has a very high burden TB and co-infection, where a patient has both TB and HIV. It is often difficult to diagnose TB in HIV patients, and TB is a leading cause of death for people infected with HIV. APOPO Mozambique TB Program Manager Emilio Valverde, “Mozambique withstands a terribly high burden of TB. This is particularly serious in HIV patients, accounting for a 16% of the Mozambican population. My personal hope is that APOPO rats can contribute to alleviate this burden in a short term.” |  | Mine Detection Rats commence training and detection work in Angola 15 trained rats that were recently sent to strengthen APOPO’s Angola Mine Action Program have started in-field training and detection work supported by a team of handlers. The program, which is in partnership with Norwegian People´s Aid (NPA), aims to speed up the land clearance process and significantly reduce the impact of landmines in the country over the next three years.
Before dispatched to Angola, APOPO’s Mine Detection Rats (MDRs) were taken through the organization’s stringent training process which resulted in a blind test to measure the mine detection capabilities of the rats.
At the training field in Tanzania, which served as the testing site, the rats surveyed four boxes, 100 sq meters each- or 400 sq meters of land in total. To pass the crucial blind test, the rats must detect each of the hidden mines that are randomly spread throughout the four boxes. To avoid any chance of a trainer accidentally sending cues to the rats, the trainer does not know ahead of time where the mines are buried. Only a computer has the details of the correct location of the mines. So once the testing is completed, and the data entered into the computer, everyone is notified of which HeroRATs have passed and are ready to be sent for operational work. | | | | |
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