SLEEPING SICKNESS: International Organizations Call For Action On Tsetse Fly

UN Wire
2002-06-07

According to the UN Wire, trypanosomiasis threatens 50 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.

The following appears with permission from UN Wire, Copyright, National Journal Group, June 7, 2002:

The Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Organization of African Unity and the World Health Organization today called for more widespread collaboration to combat the tsetse fly, which spreads trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness.

Trypanosomiasis, which is unique to Africa, infects both cattle and humans. It threatens 50 million people and 48 million cattle in 37 sub-Saharan African countries. The organizations called for more application of "area-wide integrated pest management," which merges sustainable agricultural practices with various methods of tsetse fly population control. The four organizations are currently collaborating on two tsetse fly and trypanosomiasis intervention projects in Africa, one in Ethiopia and the other in the border area between Mali and Burkina Faso (FAO release, June 7).