An international alliance between FAO, the International Federation for Animal Health (IFAH), the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed), the University of Strathclyde, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and with critical support from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) was established to develop quality control and quality assurance standards for trypanocidal drugs, with the aim of transferring these methodologies to two control laboratories in sub-Saharan Africa that serve as reference institutions for their respective regions.