General description

One of the goal of the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement in Zimbabwe is to promote bio-security, animal health and welfare for the benefit of the livestock industry and human well being. For that objective, a Department of Veterinary Services has specifically been created.

The Division of Tsetse Control Services falls within the Department of Veterinary Services under the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement in Zimbabwe. Its mandate is to eliminate tsetse and trypanosomosis for sustainable rural development, and the Division is the implementer of all tsetse control programs in Zimbabwe. The Division is headed by the Director, underpinned by a Deputy Director, 3 Chief Glossinologists and 10 Glossinologists, all of whom are based at the Head Office in the capital Harare. The Division also includes 9 Field Stations, the operational bases from which tsetse control operations are implemented. One of the 9 field stations is focused on research, and it is located in Rekomechi, within the Mana Pools National Park in the Zambezi valley. Each station is headed by a Station Head or Chief Tsetse Field Officer, who is assisted by several Tsetse Field Assistants, General Hands and Drivers to implement tsetse control programmes. The full complement of staff of the Division is currently 467. The Head Office is responsible for programme planning and supervision and the field staff is in charge of implementation... The Division operates under four areas of activity: (a) Trypanosomosis surveillance (b) Tsetse surveillance (c) Tsetse Control (reduction and elimination) (d) Tsetse Research. Within the Department of Veterinary Services, the Division of Tsetse Control Services collaborates closely with the Division of Veterinary Services, the latter being responsible for operating dip tanks for the control of vector-borne diseases.

The combat against tsetse-transmitted animal and human African trypanosomosis in the country is funded mainly by the Government of Zimbabwe through Treasury with support from several regional and international developmental partners.

Role in the project

• WP3, the Division of Tsetse Control Services will work on the national information system/atlas of AT and its vectors in Zimbabwe, by completing, updating and enhancing a database of tsetse and AT recently developed In particular, missing information will be identified, gathered and included in the atlas (e.g. raw data from scientific publications) and new data will be collected in areas previously not surveyed to enhance geographical coverage. Within WP3 the national surveillance network for AT and its vectors will also be improved by enhancing the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of reporting, and by strengthening its linkage to the national information system/atlas.
• WP5, the Division will be in charge of developing a national strategy for AT control in line with the PCP approach, and the related implementation roadmap. This will involve national-level consultations with stakeholders, political engagement, and support from international partners.
• WP6, two 2 weeks trainings for 5 persons will be carried out in order to update field workers to the latest technologies.
• WP7, redaction of scientific and financial reports, dissemination through writing of publications.