A few minimum requirements have to be met to enter the PCP for AAT. Prior to that, a country is considered to be “below Stage 1”, meaning that it has not formally entered the PCP.

One key requirement to enter the PCP is political and financial commitment at the national level, which is translated into adequate core funding to establish and support a Specialized National Structure (SNS) dedicated to tsetse and AAT control. SNS must be endowed with core technical and managerial competencies, although the strengthening of the SNS capacities is addressed to a larger extent in subsequent stages. Political commitment is also signalled through national level engagement in the AU-PATTEC initiative.

The second requirement relates to self-assessment and planning. Countries need to appraise their existing capacities, epidemiological knowledge, institutional arrangements, human and financial resources. Subsequently, a work plan must be developed, which will be implemented in the subsequent Stage 1.