Bamako, Mali.

The stakeholders workshop was organized by FAO and the Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Control Unit in Mali (CCLMT, Cellule de Coordination de Lutte contre les Mouches Tsé-tsé et les trypanosomoses animales, Direction Nationale des Services Vétérinaires, Ministère de l’Elevage et de la Pêche). Nineteen (19) participated, including the technical adviser of Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Director of National Veterinary Services (DNSV) with his assistant, the former coordinator of PLMT (Projet de Lutte contre les Mouches tsétsé et les Trypanosomoses animals), as well as an expert from LCV (Veterinary Central Laboratory, Ministry of Rural Development).

The main objective of the mission was to present the National Atlas of AAT & tsetse to main stakeholders and to discuss the current PCP Status of Mali, including next activities in the field to be planned. The mission is a follow up to three previous FAO technical assistance workshops.

The final presentation chaired by Mr. Mahamadou Sylla, technical adviser of Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (and former CCLMT Coordinator), was held on 9 March in the presence Mr. Souleymane Camara, Director of National Veterinary Services (DNSV); Mr. Boubacar Bass, Assistant to the Director of DNSV; Ahmadou Haidara, former PLMT coordinator (PLMT=Projet de Lutte contre les Mouches tsétsé et les Trypanosomoses animals) in Sikasso; Mr. Dakaia Bocoum, LCV (Veterinary Central Laboratory, Ministry of Rural Development); Sadou Maiga, retired entomologist and pioneer of the researches and studies against tsetse in Mali; Mr. Alhousseni Dicko, FAO Mali, working on projects focused on pastoralists, and other.

Main results from capacity building provided along the FAO project, including the “Atlas AAT & tsetse in Mali”, the FAO/PAAT activities, as well as the PCP were presented by the RO. Mr. Boucader Diarra presented the chronology of all projects against AAT & tsetse in Mali between 2000 and 2014, the objectives of strategic plan 2017-2036 rearranged according to PCP and focusing on three main areas, and went into details of interventions run in Mali in both trapping tsetse along major rivers and surveying cattle in different villages of 5 Malian Regions. The audience showed great interest in the presentations and the chairman, Mr. Mahamadou Sylla, repetitively expressed gratitude to FAO, the RO and Italy for the constant support. In the final recommendations further assistance to Mali to update the “Atlas AAT & tsetse in Mali” and to effectively implement the PCP was clearly requested for the near future. Other recommendations were addressed to DNSV to facilitate the sharing of more unpublished data to be included in the Atlas.