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{{short description|NGO whichthat trains landmine- and tuberculosis -sniffing rats}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{self-published|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = APOPO
| native_name = Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling
| native_name_lang = Dutch
| named_after =
| image =
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| caption logo =
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| abbreviation predecessor =
| predecessor merged =
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| formation = 1997▼
| successor =
| founder =
▲| formation = 1997
| founder founding_location =
| founding_location merger =
| type = [[Non-governmental organization]]▼
| extinction = <!-- use {{end date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| tax_id = <!-- or | vat_id = (for European organizations) -->▼
| merger =
| registration_id = <!-- for non-profit org -->▼
▲| type = [[Non-governmental organization]]
| status = ▼
▲| tax_id = <!-- or | vat_id = (for European organizations) -->
| purpose = To develop detection rats technology to provide solutions for global problems and inspire positive social change.▼
▲| registration_id = <!-- for non-profit org -->
| headquarters = [[Morogoro]], Tanzania▼
▲| status =
| coords = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LON|display=inline, title}} -->▼
▲| purpose = To develop detection rats technology to provide solutions for global problems and inspire positive social change.
| region = Africa, Asia, South America▼
▲| headquarters = [[Morogoro]], Tanzania
| location services =
| products =
▲| coords = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LON|display=inline, title}} -->
| methods =
▲| region = Africa, Asia, South America
| fields = [[Demining|Mine action]], [[tuberculosis]], research and development, disaster relief▼
| services =
| products membership =
| methods membership_year =
| language =
▲| fields = [[Demining|Mine action]], [[tuberculosis]], research and development, disaster relief
| membership owner = <!-- or | owners = -->
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| owner = <!-- or | owners = -->
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| website = {{URL|www.apopo.org}}▼
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▲| website = {{URL|www.apopo.org}}
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}}
[[File:Bosco the rat at APOPO.jpg|thumb|One of APOPO's "HeroRATs" in Cambodia]]
'''APOPO''' (an acronym for '''{{lang-nl|Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling''': "|lit=Anti-Personnel Landmines RemovalDetection Product Development" in English}}<ref name="FAQ">{{cite web |url=https://www.apopo.org/enwho-we-are/latestfaqs/2016/5/13/rodents-of-unusual-size-rous?v=79cba1185463 |title=Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=Apopo.org |date=2016-05-14 |accessdate=2018-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227122023/https://www.apopo.org/en/latest/2016/5/13/rodents-of-unusual-size-rous |archive-date=2017-12-27 |url-status=live }}</ref>) is a registered Belgian [[non-governmental organisation]] and US non-profit which trains [[southern giant pouched rat]]s<ref name="FAQ" /> and technical survey dogs to detect [[landmine]]s and [[tuberculosis]].<ref name="Who We Are">[https://www.apopo.org/en/who-we-are APOPO -– Who We Are] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927004203/http://www.apopo.org/cms.php?cmsid=14&lang=en |date=2011-09-27 }}</ref> They call their trained ratsanimals 'HeroRATs' and 'HeroDOGs'.<ref name="training">[https://www.apopo.org/en/herorats/training-and-research APOPO -– Training HeroRATs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807045416/http://www.apopo.org/cms.php?cmsid=20&lang=en |date=2011-08-07 }}</ref>
{{TOC limit}}
 
==History==
 
APOPO started as an R&D organization in [[Belgium]] in the 1990s, working with the support of research and government grants to develop the concept of Detection Rats Technology. As a pet owner, Bart Weetjens, one of the co-founders, came across an article about [[gerbil]]s being used as scent detectors. He believed that rats, with their strong sense of smell and ability to be trained, could provide a better means to detect landmines. Weetjens's former university lecturer Prof. Mic Billet, the founder of the Institute for Product Development at [[Antwerp University]], fully supported the idea and made his personal resources available for further investigation and promotion of the new initiative. After consulting with Professor Ron Verhagen, rodent expert at the department of evolutionary biology of the [[University of Antwerp]], the [[Gambian pouched rat]] was determined to be the best candidate due to its longevity and African origin.<ref name="apopo.org">[https://www.apopo.org/en/who-we-are/our-history APOPO - History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103174704/http://www.apopo.org/history.php |date=January 3, 2010 }}</ref> The APOPO project was launched on 1 November 1997 by Bart Weetjens and his former schoolmate Christophe Cox. Both Weetjens and Cox had previously collaborated in a not-for-profit organisation that had been headed by Prof. Mic Billet, and together they started building a kennel facility for the training and breeding of African giant pouched rats. They contacted the [[Sokoine University of Agriculture]] (SUA) in [[Morogoro]], [[Tanzania]], and placed an order for the import of Gambian pouched rats.
 
Initial financial support came in 1997 from Belgian government foreign development aid funds.<ref name="apopo.org" /> In 2000 it moved its training and headquarters to SUA, partnering with the [[Tanzanian People's Defence Force]].
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After the first 11 rats were given accreditation according to International Mine Action Standards in 2004, beginning in 2006 machinery for ground preparation, manual deminers and the rats assisted with detection in long-running mine clearance operations in [[Mozambique]].<ref name="apopo.org" /><ref name=Efficiency>{{cite web|title=Efficiency and Effectiveness Study using MDR capability|url=http://www.gichd.org/fileadmin/GICHD-resources/rec-documents/APOPO-GICHD-Mine-Detection-Rats-30Jun2016.pdf|publisher=GICHD|accessdate=24 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913175113/http://www.gichd.org/fileadmin/GICHD-resources/rec-documents/APOPO-GICHD-Mine-Detection-Rats-30Jun2016.pdf|archive-date=13 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Tasked in 2008 as the sole operator to clear [[Gaza Province]], the province was mine-free in 2012, one year ahead of schedule. In 2013 the government allowed APOPO to expand its operations in [[Maputo Province|Maputo]], [[Manica Province|Manica]], Sofaka and [[Tete Province|Tete]] provinces.<ref name="Annual Report 2015">{{cite web|last1=APOPO|first1=HeroRATs|title=Annual Report 2015|url=https://www.apopo.org//images/reports/APOPO_Annual_Report_2015.pdf|website=www.apopo.org|publisher=APOPO|accessdate=10 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925004318/https://www.apopo.org//images/reports/APOPO_Annual_Report_2015.pdf|archive-date=25 September 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Mozambique was officially declared free of all landmines on 17 September 2015. APOPO assisted the government with clearing five provinces.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mozambique mine-free celebrations|url=https://www.apopo.org/en/component/one/summary?show=310|website=www.apopo.org|accessdate=10 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925004239/https://www.apopo.org/en/component/one/summary?show=310|archive-date=25 September 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Sixteen rats were maintained in the country at the request of the government in order to carry out residual (mop-up) tasks.<ref name="APOPO History"/>
 
In [[Angola]] APOPO has worked for [[Norwegian People's Aid]] since 2012. From 2013- to 2015 up to 31 rats assisted demining by heavy machinery and people with metal detectors at two sites, [[Ngola-Luije]] in [[Malanje]] and in Malele in [[Zaire]] province, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo.<ref name=Efficiency/><ref name="Annual Report 2015"/> 49 hectares were cleared.<ref name=Efficiency/> The {{convert|52|ha| acre|abbr=on|-1}} Malele site was cleared one year in advance.<ref name="Annual Report 2015"/> In 2016 rats assisted clearance at a site in Ndondele Mpasi, Zaire province.<ref name="Mine action Angola">{{cite web|title=Angola|url=https://www.apopo.org/en/mine-action/projects/angola|website=www.apopo.org|accessdate=10 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730183114/https://www.apopo.org/en/mine-action/projects/angola|archive-date=30 July 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
 
In early 2014 the national [[Land mines in Cambodia|Cambodia]] Mine Action Centre (CMAC) started demining a site, with the help of Norwegian Peoples Aid, using conventional mine clearance methods.<ref name=Efficiency/><ref>{{cite web|title=CMAC website|url=http://cmac.gov.kh/|website=cmac.gov.kh/|accessdate=24 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826065609/http://cmac.gov.kh/|archive-date=26 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Following a six-month acclimatization and training period, 14 out of the 16 rats were accredited by CMAC in November 2015 to be used in mine clearance operations.<ref name="Annual Report 2015" /> Two Cambodian handlers spent six months in the training centre in Tanzania.<ref name="Annual Report 2015"/> By June 2016 the first minefield was cleared.<ref name="APOPO History"/> In 2017 a visitor centre was opened in [[Siem Reap]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.apopo.org/en/contact-us/APOPO-Visitor-Center |title=APOPO Visitor Center |publisher=Apopo.org |date= |accessdate=2018-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329032315/https://www.apopo.org/en/contact-us/APOPO-Visitor-Center |archive-date=2018-03-29 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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An APOPO foundation was established in [[Geneva]] in 2015 to support APOPO's global activities with financial resources, networking among mine clearance and tuberculosis stakeholders, and increasing visibility. An office was set up in the United States to better access important institutional donors and public funding. The U.S. office was registered as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization in 2015, which enables public and corporation donations to be tax deductible. In 2014 APOPO set up a TB Scientific Advisory Committee to provide credibility. APOPO also has a research and development centre.
 
As of JuneMay 20162024, APOPO employedemploys over 190450 staff in the local operations and 14 international staffinternationally, and hadhas 260279 rats and 79 dogs in various stages of breeding, detection training, research, or operations.
 
==Scent detection training==
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===Advantages===
According to the NGO, the main advantage over conventional methods is speed. They point to past studies that show that less than 3three percent of landmine -suspected land actually contains any landmines. Animals such as dogs or rats detect only explosives and ignore scrap metal, such as old coins, nuts and bolts, etc., thus they are able to check areas of land faster than conventional methods.<ref>{{cite book|last1=BACH|first1=Håvard|last2=PHELAN|first2=James|title=Appendix T : CANINE-ASSISTED DETECTION in HLD NEEDS -– Alternatives for Landmine Detection|date=2003|publisher=MBI Publishing Company|pages=285–298|url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1608/MR1608.appt.pdf|accessdate=1 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004165650/https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1608/MR1608.appt.pdf|archive-date=4 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> They claim that one rat can check {{convert|200|m2|abbr=on}} in around 20 minutes.<ref>{{cite book|title=2014 Annual Report|publisher=APOPO|url=https://www.apopo.org//images/reports/APOPO_Annual_Report_2014_LoRes.pdf|accessdate=1 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924221440/https://www.apopo.org//images/reports/APOPO_Annual_Report_2014_LoRes.pdf|archive-date=24 September 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In Angola,the howeverfield, fromthe 2012practical torate 2016is slower: rats are capable of searching up to {{convert|49,625400|m2|abbr=on}} wereeach clearedper day as part of a team includingthat includes conventional equipment, indicating a 35,000% slower rate in the field.<ref name=Efficiency/>
 
The rats are indigenous to [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], so are suited to tropical climates and could be resistant to many [[endemic diseases]]. Few resources are needed to train and raise a rat to adulthood, and they have a lifespan of six to eight years. Furthermore, rats do not form bonds with specific trainers like dogs but rather are motivated to work for food, so trained rats can be transferred between handlers. In the minefields, the rats are too light to detonate a pressure-activated mine when walking over it. Their small size also means that the ratsthey can be more easily transported to sites than dogs.<ref name="whyrats">[https://www.apopo.org/en/about/our-work/why-rats - APOPO - Why rats?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331021911/https://www.apopo.org/en/about/our-work/why-rats |date=2016-03-31 }}</ref>
 
===Criticisms and limitations===
It washas been noted that rats cannot search reliably in areas of thick vegetation and often search more erratically than humans, offering a lower level of assurance that the land is mine-free. Additionally, they can only work for short periods in the heat, limiting their output. Manual demining teams are still the globally preferred method of landmine clearance, and currently, APOPO is the only organisation in the world to use giant rats.<ref name=Behavior/><ref name=Smith/><ref name=Desperately/>
 
==Detecting tuberculosis==
Sputum samples that have already been conventionally tested are retested by the rats. The rats sniff a series of holes in a glass chamber, under which sputum samples are placed. When a rat detects tuberculosis (TB), it indicates this by keeping its nose in the sample hole and/or scratching at the floor of the cage.<ref name="tuberculosis">[http://www.apopo.org/cms.php?cmsid=22&lang=en APOPO - Tuberculosis detection] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927004119/http://www.apopo.org/cms.php?cmsid=22&lang=en |date=2011-09-27 }}</ref> The program began in Tanzania in 2007, double-checking samples from four government clinics, by 2016 some 1000 samples a week were sent by 24 clinics in and around Dar es Salaam and Morogoro. The rats have been screening samples from clinics in Mozambique since 2013. APOPO have a facility at the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo. In 2015 14 health centres in the city worked with it.
 
The key advantage of the rats is speed. Public clinics use microscopy to detect TB; this is slow and imprecise. In Mozambique only 50% of TB positive patients tested at clinics are actually identified, so the rats are used to double check the samples.<ref name="National Geographic">{{cite web|last1=Cengel|first1=Katya|title=Giant Rats Trained to Sniff Out Tuberculosis in Africa|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140816-rats-tuberculosis-smell-disease-health-animals-world/|website=news.nationalgeographic.com|publisher=National Geographic|accessdate=16 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815013122/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140816-rats-tuberculosis-smell-disease-health-animals-world/|archive-date=15 August 2016|url-status=livedead}}</ref> According to the NGO, one trained rat can evaluate 40 samples in 7 minutes, which a laboratory technician can process in a day.<ref name="tuberculosis"/> The rats make it possible to mass-screen many samples. They work at low cost and a fast pace.
 
APOPO suggests it increased the detection of TB patients by over 40%.<ref name="newswise">{{cite news | url=http://www.newswise.com/articles/giant-african-rats-successfully-detect-tuberculosis-more-accurately-than-commonly-used-techniques | work=Newswise | title=Giant African Rats Successfully Detect Tuberculosis More Accurately Than Commonly Used Techniques | date=2011-12-14 | access-date=2011-08-05 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218123007/http://www.newswise.com/articles/giant-african-rats-successfully-detect-tuberculosis-more-accurately-than-commonly-used-techniques | archive-date=2010-12-18 | url-status=live }}</ref>
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* [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-the-giant-rats-that-save-lives.html?_r=0 The Giant Rats That Save Lives]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080604122746/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1811203,00.html The Landmine-Sniffing Rats of Mozambique]
* [http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2008/11/23/mankinds_new_best_friend/?s_campaign=8315 Mankind's new best friend?: Trained giant rats sniff out land mines, tuberculosis]
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/health/04tb.html?_r=2 Detecting Tuberculosis: No Microscopes, Just Rats]
*[httphttps://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/01/rats.aspx Rats to the rescue]
* [https://www.ted.com/talks/bart_weetjens_how_i_taught_rats_to_sniff_out_land_mines TED Talk by Bart Weetjens]
 
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[[Category:Non-governmental organizations]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Africa]]
[[Category:Foreign charities operating in Cambodia]]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APOPO"